Lunar Orb
by xxx Queen Of Slayers xxx
Summary: Sequel to Dark Shadows. Elizabeth Cullen is a high school student who also happens to be a vampire: and who just happens to fall in love with a werewolf. INCOMPLETE
1. Preface

Thanks to my lovely Muse and Gaurdian Angel Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres -  
The loveliest person you will ever find!

Thanks also to all my lovely readers who made this sequel possible:  
The people who reviewed, put it on their favorites/alerts, and also added me to their favorites/alerts!  
Thank You!

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True love is a sacred flame  
that burns eternally,  
and none can dim its special glow  
or change its destiny.  
True love speaks in tender tones  
and hears with gentle ear,  
True love gives with open heart  
and true love conquers fear.  
True love makes no harsh demands  
it neither rules nor binds,  
and true love holds with gentle hands  
the hearts that it entwines.

_True Love  
Unknown_

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

**Preface**

The darkness reared above us. The smell of poppies was fresh all around, and the air crackled like before a storm.

The night took on a form of a woman wearing a long black cloak with sapphire velvet slippers visible on her feet, evil incarnate. She was one with the darkness, the darkness enfolding her, embracing her tightly.

The auburn wolf stood in front of me, hackles rose, as it snarled at the shadows, growls ripping from its chest. Its unnatural emerald eyes flashed menacingly as the dark woman drew closer, the scent of poppies making my head spin. I knew, in that moment, that I was going to die, as surely as that I would do anything for my protector standing in front of me, and that when this night ended, at least one person would survive, one who deserved their life.

As if sensing my thoughts the wolf turned round and stared at me frustratingly with his beautiful eyes, then turned to look at the darkness about to strike, crouched in a pouncing position.

This situation would never have occurred, had it been for me. And since I had caused it, I wouldn't let anyone else stand in my way.

I waited as the woman smiled cruelly and then the darkness rushed towards me, and in that instant I knew; we do not fear her because of the darkness, we fear the darkness because of her.


	2. 1: First Day

Thanks to my beta-reader Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres for this piece!

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1. First Day

My eyes opened to the sounds of my family filtering through the floorboards from below.

It was my first day in a new town, new school. We would be staying here for another three/four years, and then moving on again quickly.

I sat up and stretched, checking the time. Obviously, it was still six thirty. I was a light sleeper, and one who woke up early. Not that I needed much sleep anyways, being a new generation vampire. But I still needed my sleep every once in a while – without any I was unable to function properly. People slept to satisfy their body and to refresh themselves; I slept because I was bored.

I swung my feet out of bed and padded to the bathroom, showering and brushing my teeth and then inspecting myself critically in the mirror. My shimmery silvery-blonde hair was neat, falling past my shoulders in straight lines, and my jade eyes were clear, no hint of sleep in them.

My very pale, albino skin, though more colored than my family's, was spot free, with no blemishes, and looked soft; overall, I didn't look like I had been sleeping, if what I'd been doing could be called sleeping. One of the perks of being a vampire.

For my first day, I stood in front of my mirror – lucky that vampires could have reflections – and held up outfit after outfit against myself as I decided what to wear. The short black dress? The long khaki skirt with the green low-necked blouse? The strappy pink and white dress? Finally I decided to wear a gold mini and grabbed my black boots from next to my bed, plodding downstairs.

"Hi, angel." Bella – I had trouble calling her Mom – greeted me as I entered the kitchen. She was sitting next to Edward – I also had trouble thinking of him as my Dad – and his arm was around her; they seemed perfectly comfortable with each other.

I was the only one of the family who wasn't paired off, but according to Alice, they had to "give me time."

It was maddening that they all had destined soulmates, and this made me feel like an outsider on days when I was in an especially bad mood, to see them all together, so – _in love_ with each other.

"First day at a new school." I announced. "You know, this time could I actually be able to finish high school before we move again?"

"Of course – you'll be turning seventeen in four months, and so in one year you'll be ready for college." Carlisle told me.

I snorted. "You guys still all intent on me having some 'human experiences' before I stop aging or whatever?"

Bella nodded. "You're only seventeen; there'll be plenty of human experiences to be had, and you're going to enjoy every single one of them."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Mom."

"Mind if you come in my car today?" Edward asked.

"Sure – but you _have_ to buy me a green Mercedes for my birthday."

Edward smirked, glancing across at Bella. "Hmmm. I'll consider it."

I narrowed my eyes. "This isn't a dig at my driving, right? I just hate going at, like, eighty miles per hour. Now, going at a hundred and thirty five miles an hour is awesome."

Emmett chucked. "I don't think Bella will agree."

"I don't get what you vampires have for driving." Bella informed him.

Emmett held up his hands in defence. "You don't see me going for flashy cars. I love my Jeep."

"One hell of a Jeep." I agreed.

"Want some breakfast?" Bella asked.

I nodded. "Sure." I could have just as well drunk blood, but then it made me more like a vampire, and if I just took food, I would be more humanlike, so I gave both a fifty-fifty chance to each – plus being my type of vampire enabled me to have more attuned and better abilities than normal vampires and better yet, I could also have human comforts.

I was one lucky vampire. Bella set down a bowl of cornflakes and toast along with a glass of OJ in front of me, refusing to let me serve myself, and went back to Edward while I ate.

When it was time to go to school, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper piled into Rosalie's convertible and Edward led Bella and me to his silver Volvo, gunning the engine.

When we got to the school, I saw that it was a big building with a church in the background, and it had a big fancy plaque with 'Esmont High School 1805-2022' written on it in gold blocks.

There were all types of cars parked in the available spaces, varying from Range Rovers to Lamborghini's and Kharmann Ghia's.

Edward parked next to the others near the building and got out, opening Bella's door for her and taking her bag as they walked towards the school. I walked next to them, and arrived at the secretary's office.

The secretary was a small woman with short black hair and large chocolate eyes. She nodded at us, her eyes sweeping over us all, and looked at Rosalie, who was supposedly the oldest of the children.

"Hello, I'm Ms. Collins. How may I help you?" She asked, warmly.

"We're the Cullens." Rosalie told her.

Ms. Collins nodded. "I see. Your names, please?"

"Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Edward, Bella, and Elizabeth."

She blinked, looking down at a slip of paper. "Rosalie and Emmett, you have the same schedules in the senior classes, and the others are all assigned to the same classes except for Elizabeth who will be in the second junior class."

I looked pleadingly at her. "Please may I be with my siblings?"

Ms. Collins smiled sympathetically at me. "I'm sorry, dear. I could talk to the principal on your behalf, if you like?"

I shook my head. "No, thanks, it's okay."

Ms. Collins smiled at me and handed us our schedules with slips of paper for the teachers to sign. I walked back to my locker with the others, feeling glum.

"Sorry, Liz – I'll see you at lunch?" Bella asked, worriedly.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." I told her. I opened my new locker, checking inside that the last person hadn't left their smelly gym bag in it this time, and slammed it shut, walking to my first class.

When I entered, I saw that everyone was in groups, but at my arrival everyone fell silent, turning to look at me simultaneously, then turning back to their conversations, though a few shot me glances as I walked past them. I reddened, and walked over to an empty table at the back near the window.

I set my bag down on the table, rummaging through it for mints, when I looked up to see a muscular boy with dark hair and eyes coming towards me. I groaned inwardly and smiled as he approached my table.

"Hi." He flashed me a winning smile, and I smiled back, hesitant.

"Hi. Um…"

"The name's Raze." He offered.

"Hi, Raze."

"You new?" Raze asked.

I nodded. "Moved here on Saturday."

"I guess you havn't seen much of Esmont, Virginia, then?" Raze chuckled.

I shrugged. "Not really."

"I could show you some -" Raze began to say, when another boy came towards us, smaller than Raze but more imposing.

"Yo Raze, leave the girl alone man." The new boy had piercing eyes that swept me from head to toe and then flickered back in his friend's direction.

"He's not annoying me – really." I told him.

The boy smiled. "I'm warning you, stay away from him; he's a real charmer, a ladies' man."

I smirked. "I'm not much of a man's lady."

The boy laughed. "I think I'll like you – the name's Pierce."

I smiled at him. "Elizabeth Cullen, my friends call me Liz."

"Your friends must be sad that you moved away." Pierce said.

I shrugged. "Not really; I move a lot."

"Hey!" Raze protested. "As I was saying, I could show Liz around town if she likes."

I raised my eyebrow. "Tell me you didn't just ask me out on a date."

Raze looked embarrassed, and Pierce looked at his friend as though he'd gone crazy.

"I think Raze's crazy for you." He explained. "He doesn't normally go asking out a girl once he's sure she won't turn him down. And he likes to chase after her first."

"Oh, I don't mind – really. It's just that I just moved in?" By now a few more boys and girls had joined us, all listening pointedly to what I had to say. Thank god I was more like Edward; otherwise I would be feeling mortified with this much attention at once.

"Hi Elizabeth, my name's Jessica Parker, my friends call me Jess." A petite girl with bright red hair and sparkling gray eyes introduced herself to me and then pointed out the others.

"I see you've met Raze and Pierce; that's Marianne, Janet, Lila, Chloe, Perdity, Jamil, Trent, Val, Jason and Trix." Marianne was willowy and had blonde hair and lavender eyes; Janet and Lila were both brunettes, Janet petite with dark eyes and Lila tall with blue eyes.

Chloe was small and had black hair and eyes, whilst Perdity was tall and had blonde hair with brown eyes.

Jamil was dark and had black hair with brown eyes, and Trent had russet hair with black eyes. Stephen had golden-brown hair with gray eyes, whilst Jason had blonde hair and cobalt eyes, and Trix had brown hair with chocolate eyes.

Jamil, Trent, and Val were all well built, but Trix and Jason were smaller. No guesses to who was in the soccer team, if there was one.

"You're not named after the Trix rabbit, are you?" I asked Trix.

He glared at me. "Got a problem with that?"

"Not really."

"So, is it just Elizabeth or do you have a nickname?" Marianne asked.

"My friends call me Liz."

Jessica smiled, interested. "Do you play sport?"

I nodded. "And you?"

"Cheerleaders for the Esmont Wolves; there are lots more teams in Virginia and we have interstate competitions and also go to games with the 'Wolves. We've won quite a few times in a row now" She grinned.

"Congratulations."

"We don't normally ask this of everyone, but would you like to join?" Jessica asked.

I shook my head, grimacing slightly. "I'm not cheerleading material."

"Please?" She pleaded.

"Sorry – I don't get enough free time at home." Liar. You have a lot.

Jessica nodded. "Well, if you want to join the team anytime, just audition for us and you're in; you'd make a great cheerleader." She smiled warmly at me and I relaxed, smiling back, when Mr Faulks, our literature teacher, came through the door. Everyone immediately went back to his or her seat and I walked to the front, feeling not as humiliated now as before.

"Mr Faulks? I'm Elizabeth Cullen."

Mr Faulks peered at me over his glasses. "You're the new girl?"

I nodded, and then he took my slip of paper from me and signed it, handing it back, then gave me an English textbook with a stack of sheets and wrote my name in his planner.

"Here's everything we're doing this semester, do you have a place to sit?"

I shook my head and Mr Faulks looked around the room, and then indicated a table near the back.

"You can sit at the table near the back."

"Thank you sir." I walked over to the table and sat down at one end, flipping through the sheets.

It was all the books we had to do during the semester, and the right at the top was _Wuthering Heights _by Jane Austen, one I had already read; it was my favorite.

As Mr Faulks started to talk, I looked up to listen when the door burst open and a boy burst in, smiling brilliantly. He was tall, with auburn hair and blinding emerald eyes, dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and black jeans with K-Swiss sneakers.

"Sorry I'm late, sir." He apologised to the teacher.

Mr Faulks looked up. "Sit down, Alex. By the way, there's a new girl, Elizabeth; she'll be sitting next to you from now on."

"Sure, sir." Alex grinned and walked over to my table; on the way, the girls flashed him smiles and Trent clapped him on the back. Looked like he was well known, then.

Alex reached the table and sat down on my other side, putting his bag down on the table. I froze, and closed my eyes, gulping. The scent coming off his skin, his hair, his clothes, was maddening; it drove my senses wild. I pressed my tongue against my lengthening, razor-sharp teeth, trying to restrain them, my jaw aching fiercely.

My tooth pricked my tongue and the rush of blood on my tongue was bittersweet. I knew what was happening, I had heard recollections of it from my parents and the others who had known them; it was impossible not to recognise.

_La tua cantante._


	3. 2: Forsaken

Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, and MrsBellaEdwardSwanCullen for reviewing.  
Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres: Thanks so much for the beta piece, always indebted to you!

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**2. Forsaken**

All through the lesson I tried to act as normal as possible, but the temptation was always there. I wanted to sink my teeth into his neck, to taste the warm flow of blood that would course down my throat, to – I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists to keep the thoughts of luring him out of my mind, thinking instead of how Edward and Bella would feel if they heard about this, how disappointed and pained they would be, and sat as far away from Alex as I possibly could.

When I peeked at him through my long blanket of hair that I had covered the distances between us with, I could see his neutral expression, and if he noticed my unusual behaviour he didn't comment.

I was glad, and when the lesson ended, I raced outside the class to the girls' toilets, locking myself in a cubicle as I leaned against the wall, closing my eyes.

I let out a shuddering breath, realising how close a call it could have been. I was furious at myself, wondering how Edward could stand it every second of the day.

My eyes watered and I blinked furiously, trying not to cry. When several minutes had passed, I reluctantly came out of the stall and went over to the mirror; nothing had changed, my eyes just looked a little wider than normal.

I breathed in deeply, easing the tension in my chest, and then walked out of the toilets to face my next lesson. Since Alex was in all my classes, I tried to behave better but didn't manage to succeed and when the lesson before lunch ended, I saw Alex vanish from of the classroom quickly, his mouth a thin line. When he disappeared out of sight, I stared after him, feeling awful.

I gathered my bags slowly and waited until the room cleared, then went to find my family. They were coming out of their class, and Edward and Bella looked concerned when they saw me.

"Lizzie?" Bella asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I tried to convince her but it wasn't working. I inherited my bad lying from her, so it was obvious what I was trying to do.

We walked into the cafeteria, and my eyes roamed the room as I tried to catch sight of Alex. I finally saw him sitting at a table right near the back of the hall, ignoring the look his friends were giving him from their table in the middle.

"Elizabeth?" Edward was staring at me, a crease in his forehead. I snapped back to attention and focussed on what he was saying.

"Yes?"

"I asked you where you would like to sit." His gaze flickered to Alex, and I knew he was wondering why I was looking for him.

"Actually can I sit with my…_friend_ today?" I asked, keeping my thoughts blank.

Edward frowned, but Bella nodded. "Sure." Her eyes also flickered to Alex.

I smiled at her and walked over to Alex's table. I set my tray down on the table and pulled out a chair, hesitating.

"Mind if I sit with you?"

"Sure, why not?" He answered. His voice was expressionless.

I grimaced and sat down fidgeting with my hands as I tried to overcome my nervousness. "I'm sorry, I didn't properly introduce myself, did I? I'm Elizabeth Cullen."

Alex looked up. "I know."

I didn't ask how. "What's your surname?"

Alex hesitated before answering. "Alex Black."

I didn't recognise the name. "Oh. So, um, I wanted to say I'm sorry for…treating you how I treated you in class. It's not how I normally behave, and I wanted to say I'm really, really, sorry."

Alex cracked a smile. "Don't worry, I know I smell bad."

"No, I like your scent actually." _Unfortunately._

Alex was staring at the table in the corner where Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Edward and Bella were sitting, Bella and Edward slightly turned towards us.

"Are they your siblings?" He asked.

I nodded.

Alex frowned. "You don't really look that much alike."

"I take after my father mostly. My brothers and sisters, they take after my mother, except for Rosalie, she takes after my father as well, and so does Jasper."

Alex nodded. "So your mother would have dark hair?"

I smiled. "Yeah. But we don't really take after our parents that much."

Alex smiled back, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "I see. I'm sorry, I have to go…I have to hand in an assignment so I need to finish it quickly." He stood up and walked away; I knew he was lying, his breathing rate changed and his eyes also changed slightly, so as he walked away I was left at the table, my face burning with mortification.

I avoided the others and after dinner I walked to my next class alone, keeping my head down as I twisted the combination codes for my locker. I reached inside for the books I had left there, when I heard my name being called.

"Hi Elizabeth!" I turned around to see who was calling me and saw Marianne smiling at me cheerfully from the locker next to mine.

"Hi Marianne." I smiled back, dropping my eyes.

"Hey, I wanted to say sorry about what Alex did back there. It's not normally how he acts like, you know?" She looked at me apologetically. So I wasn't the only one who had noticed his odd behaviour, the whole school knew what he had done. That particular piece of information _really_ boosted my morale.

"It doesn't matter. I don't think he likes me much and I'm fine with that." I shrugged.

Marianne looked horrified. "No, he doesn't _not_ like you! Really! You and your brothers and sisters are all wonderful, plus you're gorgeous and you're all so nice as well! What's there _not_ to like?"

"It doesn't matter." I insisted.

Marianne took hold of my arm and steered me to my next class. "Yes, it matters to _me_. Alex is my friend, and so are you; just because he's being mean doesn't mean he can get away with it." She led me inside and since she was sitting next to me, talked to me about her life, asking questions about me, until our geography teacher, Mr Vauxhall, came.

All day Marianne stayed by my side and left me at the car park with a 'see you tomorrow', walking over to her car. I smiled after her, though still worried about Alex's behaviour.

When Edward came with Bella, I stayed silent the whole drive home. I immediately got out of the car and went to my room, needing some time to myself.

"Angel?" it was my Mom. Bella came inside and shut the door softly behind her, sitting at the end of my bed. I leaned my elbows on the window, staring out. It was a nice view. Esme had decorated the gardens with neat rows of flowers; climbing roses, green ivy, blue hyacinths, lilac lilies, white orchids, and red tulips. The garden was a vibrant mass of color.

"Lizzie, are you alright?" Bella asked, sounding worried.

I tore my eyes away from the scene, looking at her. "Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"I think everyone saw what happened today."

"Don't they always; it was nothing, really."

Bella sounded mad. "If it was nothing then I wonder why you're acting so _strange_?"

"I'm not."

Bella snorted. "I may be eternally eighteen, but I'm not stupid."

I smiled at that. "You must be what, thirty five now?"

Bella smiled. "That makes me sound old."

"Trust me you're not." I assured her. "Anyways, how are classes with Edward?"

She grinned. "He dazzled the teacher to persuade her to let him sit next to me. Thank god the story is we're adopted; it wouldn't go off too well if everyone thought Edward was having unholy thoughts about his sister."

I was unable to contain my laughter. "I think all the girls are disappointed that he's with you."

"I was under the impression that they all want Alex."

"Do you know why he's so popular?"

Bella looked surprised. "You don't know? He's the quarterback of the soccer team."

I raised my eyebrows. Well, how about that. I hadn't known. We talked some more, and after Bella went away I went out of my room, trying to appear normal, and then did some homework and went on the net, downloading some songs into my Ipod, also getting my outfit ready for tomorrow.

It grew dark outside and I tried to sleep but couldn't, tossing and turning restlessly. I finally gave up on the sleep idea and sat on the love seat next to the window, looking out at the starry sky.

The full moon was out, throwing a silvery light onto everything. I opened the window and shivered as the cool night air rushed in; I heard wolves howling, and the sound sent a prickle of ice down my spine. It sounded familiar, even though I had never heard it before.

Finally I was lulled to sleep by the shimmery light of the moon, and my dreams were filled with images of Alex; when I awoke I couldn't remember what I had dreamed about, only remembering the sound of the wolves under the pale, full moon.


	4. 3: Nightmares

Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, aquakim, WillUBMyEdwardCullen? and MrsBellaEdwardSwanCullen for reviewing.  
Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres: Thanks you thank you thank you! I can't thank you enough!

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**3. Nightmares**

School the next day was the same as the first; everyone gawked at us when we entered the building, staring at our extraordinary beauty. Alex ignored me all throughout, only being polite in few situations. For some reason, it made my throat constrict and my eyes water, even though I knew there was no reason to feel like this. At lunch, I met up with Bella and the others outside the cafeteria.

"Mind if I sit with you today?" I asked.

Rosalie glared. "And you're asking, because…?"

I fought off a smile. Obviously Rosalie would feel like that. Even though I hadn't sat with them yesterday, I wasn't supposed to ask to sit with them.

"Just because."

I walked with them to the table, keeping my head now. I sat next to Bella on her left side, Edward on her right, trying to ignore all the interested looks that were constantly shot our way, though no one made a move. It was obvious how together my 'siblings' were.

I forced myself not to look for Alex anywhere, and was pleased when I ignored my surroundings, concentrating instead on my brothers and sisters. They didn't mind when I stole food from their plates; it wasn't like they were eating it.

After lunch, Marianne came to pull me away from the others, greeting them nicely. I found myself liking her; she was enigmatic and sweet, and really cheery. At lunch I had vaguely remembered a horoscope that seemed like hers for this month, to distract me from Alex.

**The stars are aligned to give you the gift of a new friend, one who will like you and be attracted by your natural charisma, sweetness, and bubbly personality. Saturn will be your leading planet, and in order to make this new friend you must offer a hand of friendship towards her. Secrets will be revealed to this friend, so take care with what is exposed.**

Marianne was close to becoming my best friend and rang immediately when we got home from school. I was on the phone with her for long, talking about everything in random.

At night, I still found it hard to sleep and sat on my pillow, pulling my knees up to my chest. I rested my head on my knees, revelling in the silence, but somehow drifted off.

_Marianne knelt in front of the unconscious body of her sister, checking for a pulse. She found one, but it was faint, weak. There was silence, but suddenly the creature was in front of her._

"_Don't worry darling, you won't a feel a thing."_

_The blow caught her in the side of her head. She fell unconscious; waking up to find she was tied to a chair in the same room. There was also a gag over her mouth, and she looked up, seeing the man coming closer. He was wearing a mask, but otherwise looked ordinary._

"_I see you're finally awake." His chuckle was low, dark. Marianne knew it was no use struggling, but fury coursed through her veins when she noticed the body of her sister lying in the same place. The man was silent, staring at her for a while his head tilted to one side._

"_Such a pretty face and the eyes…lovely." He murmured. With a sudden fluid movement, he ripped the mask off his face._

_The horror couldn't be expressed in words._

_The right side of his face was scarred, running from his forehead and dribbling down to his neck, disappearing into his high collar. His cheekbones were visible, pink tissue crisscrossing his face. The burn marks were worse. It looked like someone had just carelessly branded that half of his face, but underneath it all were neat marks, forming a game. Noughts and crosses. Words. Vampire._

"_This is what that dreaded priest did to me seven centuries ago." He snarled. _

"_Capturing me, burning me. All because of who I am." His eyes burned dark, crimson. "Your great great great great great-grandfather, in fact. I swore I would have revenge, and here I am." The vampire smiled, evilly. "Revenge on his descendant. I hope he's watching this from heaven."_

_There was a knife from nowhere. It gleamed dully, its edge jagged. And then it slashed down at Marianne's face, and for a second, when the knife came away, there wasn't much left of the right side of her face. Only blood and flesh and bone._

I woke up screaming, my body responding wildly to the ghostly pain. Bella's arms were suddenly pressed around me, soothing me as she had when I was a child, rocking back and forth. Edward was at her side, and his hands reached out to cup my face gently, drawing me into his arms.

"Don't worry, sweetie, nothing's happened, nothing's wrong, we're here." She whispered again and again, trying to reassure me.

"What is it, Elizabeth?" He asked, his voice worried.

"Just – a dream." I whispered. "Nothing but a dream."

"It was one of your visions, wasn't it?" Bella asked, stroking my hair.

My eyes fluttered open. "Yes."

"If you want to talk about it, we're here." Edward held my hand gently, reassuring me, giving me comfort.

I swallowed my voice weak. "Thanks." Bella didn't ease up from her position, and I felt comfortable, my head nodding. She lifted my head gently and set it down on the pillow, pulling my cover up to my chin.

"Don't worry about being alone. We're here for you always."

I smiled; noticing the way Bella echoed Edward. For once I wanted my Mom to watch over me as she had when I was a child, even though I was ten years older. With her comforting presence in the room, I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up, Bella was still there, leaning against Edward's side.

"Morning sleepyhead. More school today." She laughed, a tinkling sound like bell chimes. Ever since I was born I'd loved that laugh.

"Yeah, I know." I disappeared into the bathroom, and when I came out they were gone; I could hear them downstairs, and the sound of piano music floated upstairs. Edward, of course. The lullaby that was for Bella and me. I dressed quickly and went down, my parents looking up as soon as I entered the door.

"Sleep well?" Bella asked, inspecting my face more closely.

I nodded. "I feel better now."

Bella smiled, glancing at Edward to throw a look at him.

At school I acted normal with Marianne, trying not to let her notice anything was off, though I was confused. I'd seen what he'd done to her face, but when I looked, I didn't notice anything. There was just… nothing. In English, Mr Faulks made me stand up and read me some lines from a poem about love.

"True love is a sacred flame that burns eternally, and none can dim its special glow or change its destiny…" at the mention of the word destiny, I peeked at Alex.

_Are _you_ my destiny?_

He was staring back, his forehead creased. He was staring at me, and there was nothing negative in his expression, just wonder. It made my heart pound faster, my body tingle, and I ripped my gaze away, unwilling, to get back to the poem.

After school, my feet unwillingly led me towards the pitch where I knew there would be soccer practice, and I stood next to the bleachers, watching Alex, who was holding the ball. At that moment, his gaze lifted to mine – how had he found me amongst the bleachers? – And the electric current that rippled through me made me freeze.

I was locked in his eyes, experiencing the same feelings as before in literature class. While Alex was distracted, I had a feeling Trent, the linebacker, would slam into Alex. My stopped beating for a second at the though of Alex getting hurt, and without thinking, I was running for Alex and pushed him out of the way, my momentum carrying us onto the other side of the pitch. We fell, and somehow I ended up on top of Alex, who was staring at me strangely.

"Liz?" How I wished the ground would swallow me up.

"Oops…"

"Are you both okay? What was that?" Coach Laufield came running towards us.

"Nothing sir. Liz was just running and crashed into me by accident. I tried to prevent her from getting hurt." Alex explained, all innocence.

Coach Laufield nodded, uninterested. "Black, you want to sit out, feel free. Only five minutes, you hear me?"

Alex nodded. "I won't need much longer than that, sir."

Coach Laufield turned to go and I looked at him, when Alex coughed to get my attention.

"I _think_ you're lying on top of me."

Blushing I rolled off quickly, and stood up, dusting my clothes off. "Sorry."

"Why did you do that, Liz?" Alex asked.

"I just… I saw Trent running into you."

Alex raised his eyebrow. "Thanks, but that's what soccer's all about. I get worse from the other teams."

I nodded. "I know, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Whatever." A casual dismissal. I turned around and walked to the Volvo, which was already purring, the engine switched on. I got into the back and all I could feel was this mind numbing pain, the pain of knowing that I'd fallen in love with Alex straight away as soon as I saw him, the pain of seeing Trent about to slam into him, the pain of the way he just turned his head away from me. All I could so was stay in my room; the tears coursing silently down my cheeks as I stared up at the wood-panelled ceiling.

Everyone wisely stayed away, though I knew my mother was aching to comfort me. I needed the time alone.

The rest of the week passed by in a blur, and so did the following week. At school I noticed that Alex looked tired, worn out, as if he'd been unable to get any sleep.

His face was pale; dark bruises forming under his eyes. His eyes were dull and though I didn't know what brought it on, it added to my pain to know that he was suffering in some way. I was beginning to look as bad as well, and it seemed as though I was sleep-walking through the day, all time ceased to have meaning.

And then there were the nightmares. The vision of Marianne was only a vision I had had and so far I hadn't confronted her about it, especially as I didn't know if it was the past or would be in the future.

But the nightmares were much worse; each night I woke up screaming in agony that brought my parents running to my room and making the others concerned about me. Carlisle once asked me if I had considered going to a doctor, but I couldn't.

Things only started going bad when I started sleepwalking.

_The vampire who had carved off half of Marianne's face, the Spanish one, Jesse, laughed cruelly as he drew out the blade once again._

_But this time it was different. This time it was I tied in the chair, not Marianne. This time I would feel Marianne's pain, not an echo of the pain, but all of the pain. _

_And this time he would carve my whole face._

_It was over quick, and then excruciating pain. It was all I could feel, pain. He drew back, and I saw my reflection in the mirror on the wall behind him. My silvery-blonde hair framed a perfect oval face but what was in the oval was ravaged, a caricature of the worst evil, destruction of carnage._

_And then the door opened and my parents walked in, sporting the same faces._

_It had been okay when it had been only me to bear the pain, but the people I loved most in the world…_

_I shrieked with rage and tore free of my binds, running at Jesse, my fingers curled into claws, the blood seeping down my neck, the loss of vision, sense, taste._

_I wanted him to pay._

_But he sidestepped easily and I pulled myself short before I went barrelling through the window._

"_You won't do it because you're scared, coward."_

_I could hear his taunt, but couldn't see. What to do? I looked at my parents who were at the door, the remains of their faces turned to me._

_Only my vision had been tampered with; blood seeped into my eyes._

_Jesse was near them and the sword sliced through both their midsections. The top half of their body tumbled off, and the bottom half remained. Quick as a flash, Jesse pushed me through the window, shattering glass, and my body automatically touched the ground lightly on all fours._

_Then I was running, running away from Jesse, away from my murdered parents away from the reflection of the ravaged girl in the mirror._

_The cold night air rushed to greet me, and I breathed in the air deeply, wonderingly._

_So far, I hadn't known where I was running to, but suddenly rock loomed all around me and I could see the edge of the cliff. I walked right to the periphery and looked down, at the sparkling stretch of shimmering blue water that was illuminated by the moonlight._

_It was beautiful, and it called to me._

"_Lizzie! LIZZIE!"_

_I ignored the anxious cry, my foot stretched out to walk over the edge, but the next second someone grabbed me around my waist and pulled me back, and then darkness reigned._

I woke with a start, shuddering. Even though I couldn't feel the cold I could tell it was icy and I opened my eyes, seeing only darkness. But not the familiar darkness of my bedroom; I was… outside. And lying on top of Alex.


	5. 4: Imprinted

Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, aquakim, BellaSwanCullen, angel in hell, and MrsBellaEdwardSwanCullen for reviewing.  
Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres: You are absolutely _wonderful_...

* * *

**4. Imprinted**

I sprang away from Alex, gasping. "W-what am I doing here? And you? What happened?"

Alex's face was thunderous. He stalked over to me, gripping my wrists tightly.

"_What you're doing here_ is that you sleepwalked all the way to the cliff, you were just about to fall off and I pulled you back. _What I'm doing here_ is that I was outside when I saw you sleepwalking so I decided to come follow you, and good thing I did, otherwise you would have fallen and killed yourself, even if you're a vampire. _What happened_ is that somehow you managed to get outside your house and, as if almost by purpose, you came here. And you're covered with _glass_, you're _bleeding_."

This close to him, noticing the high cheekbones, the brilliant emerald of his eyes, the curve of his lips, I couldn't do anything but stare.

Alex growled, frustrated. Then without warning, he lifted me in his arms and sprinted through the night, the wind rushing past us, until he reached what seemed to be his house. He carried me inside and took me up the stairs to what seemed to be his room. I stared at him, still traumatised, growing alarmed.

He noticed my expression and his eyes went dark. "For your information, I don't take advantage of innocent girls. I need to get you cleaned up before you even begin to look _presentable_."

I finally found my voice. "I can look more presentable than you lately, at least. And you're more the type to take advantage of willing girls, and there are plenty of them."

Alex grimaced. "They don't interest me."

I sat up; trying not to feel overwhelmed, appear normal. "So who's the lucky girl who's stole the heart of the famous Alex Black?"

Alex glanced at me; his face unreadable, and then glanced away. He still looked like hell and it made my heart ache.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Actually, I would." I pressed.

"We have to take care of you first. Look at you, all bleeding and covered with glass."

"I don't hurt. As you called me before, I'm a vampire, right? So I don't bleed."

"I know normal ones don't, but I don't know what you are." Alex's voice was low.

My breath caught; I couldn't think.

_Why does he _always_ have to do that to me?_

I blinked, trying to clear my cloudy mind.

"Would anyone be home?"

Alex shrugged. His face was expressionless now, that bruised, tired, dull look back.

"They wouldn't even notice you were here."

"Oh…okay. I'm. Confused. And I don't know why you brought me back, my parents were still awake, they could have come looking for me."

"I don't know about that. I had the feeling no one was actually tracking you. And if you want to go into screaming mode, please do it once you're…cleaned up."

"Fine." I looked at my lacy white nightgown, which was torn and had glass splinters entangled in it. And a little blood.

"Wait here." Alex went away and I heard voices outside his door. A second later, a girl who looked older than him came in. His sister.

The girl smiled. "Hey Lizzie, nice to finally meet you. Alex's told me a lot about you. I'm Marie."

"It's just Liz, actually." I smiled back hesitantly.

_I'll just put that about him telling his sister everything about me with the vampire comment and what he was doing in the middle of the night when he decided to follow me._

"C'mere lets get you cleaned up in my room. If you stay in his room too long, since it being the middle of night and all, I don't trust what he would do to you." She held out a hand and I took it, heat flooding up my face at her remark. She stopped at the door and looked back at Alex.

"If I were you, I'd prepare the bath, get a towel, and make Liz a warm cup of coffee while you're at it."

Alex chuckled. "Yes ma'am."

Marie laughed and led me to her room. It was small, neat. A bed was on one side of the world with plain white sheets, and there were posters stuck all over the walls of boy bands and movie stars. A desk was in one corner with stacks of books on it, and a dark wood drawer was next to the bed, with a reflective glass surface.

Marie rummaged through her closet, looking for something. She finally pulled out a nightgown and a bathrobe.

"Here, will these fit you?"

"I…yes, thanks."

"Here." Marie laid them on the bed and picked off the splinters that were in my arms, moving up to my hair. "What about your parents?"

I shuddered, remembering the dream. "I don't know. They'll be awake and wondering what happened to me."

"I think you should phone them. You can use the downstairs phone later."

"Thanks."

"So, sleepwalking, huh? Thank god Alex was out tonight otherwise you would have died."

I grinned. "He said the exact same thing."

Marie smiled softly. "You have lovely hair; is the colour natural?"

"I've had the same hair since birth. My mother told me I inherited from my Dad's mother; apparently my eyes and hair are from her."

"She must have been a southern belle back in her day."

"Actually I wouldn't know. She died before I was born, and not even my Dad knew much about her."

Marie winced. "Sorry."

"No it's okay."

"I think it's a good thing you moved to this town. About time Alex imprinted. And you're really nice."

I spun around, backing away. I'd never heard the word before, but if it sounded like what it apparently meant…

"_Imprinted_?"

Marie looked shocked. "Wait – you don't know?"

"Know what?"

"That… what Alex is. What his friends are. I thought… your family must know."

"Know _what_, exactly?" I didn't understand.

"Alex is a werewolf."

"No, I didn't know. Was I supposed to? I've never actually met any."

"But you've heard of them?"

"They come in a lot of books and movies."

Marie frowned. "Oh. Well… if you're not sure, you could ask your parents. I'm sorry; I didn't know that you never knew. But imprinting is – I'll try to explain it as best as I can – It's finding your other half."

Someone was going to have a lot of explaining to do. "And why is Alex convinced I'm the one for him?"

"You just know when you see them. Apparently you're the one for him, hundred percent."

That couldn't be right. "You're wrong. Alex doesn't like me."

Marie shrugged, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. "You'll have to ask him."

That was what I definitely _was_ going to do. After I had showered and dressed in Marie's borrowed clothes, mine in the washing, I came out from the bathroom and immediately ran into someone.

"Sor-" I started to say, when I looked up.

"Its fine." Alex muttered.

"Oh."

"Do you want to come downstairs?" He asked, watching my face intently.

I nodded, following him to the living room.

I sat down on one end of the couch, Alex on the other side. I was hyperaware of him sitting a few inches away from me; it made my heart flutter and static crackle around me.

"Lizzie?" Alex asked.

I blinked, and took in a deep breath. "I'd like to ask you something…"


	6. 5: Confrontation

Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, aquakim, Anima Bella, angel in hell, Emberseve, and VampireGirl007 for reviewing.  
Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres: Love you! XD

_A/N: The end part isn't from Twilight, but Eerie Queerie Vol.1. Thank You._

* * *

**5. Confrontation**

"And what would that be?" Alex asked.

I bit my lip unconsciously; it had become a habit of mine whenever I became nervous. Untypical vampire reaction. "Your sister – Marie – told me that you told her that I – that I was the object of your imprinting. And…" I hesitated, unwilling to go on.

Alex's lovely face was impassive, unreadable. "And?"

"I don't know why you told your sister about me, how you knew I was a vampire, and how you managed to follow me in the middle of the night." I finished in a rush.

A smile lurked at the corner of his mouth. "I never figured you for the curious type of girl."

"I'm not," I defended myself, "but when it involves me, then of course I'll be asking questions."

Alice smiled wryly. "Question one – well, not really a question – I found out you were my other half the first time I saw you, and Marie knew, of course, even though she's not a werewolf, so I told her about you because she insisted.

"And of course I knew you were a vampire; you have a different scent to your family, but I could tell you were one, because of how you looked, and lastly, I havn't been sleeping well lately, so when you went sleepwalking past my house, I noticed something was off so I decided to follow you."

I glanced down. "_Oh_. Why – havn't you been sleeping well lately?"

He glanced up. "I'm sure you can guess."

My voice was small. "Yeah, I can."

He came right over and sat next to me. "Lizzie?"

I swallowed. "Yeah?"

"Why are you so afraid?"

_Because I want you but I'm scared you might reject me._

"Nothing."

He tilted his head, smiling that smile that made my heart leap. "You're a bad liar." Reached out and took my hand, stroking my cheek with the other.

He might as well have cast a spell over me. "Please don't do that."

His smile widened. "Do what?" He started leaning towards me, and I saw myself reflected in his eyes. I was panicking, and my heart was beating wildly.

"S-s-s-stop…" I whispered weakly, but then his lips were on mine and all my panic faded away. I clung to him, moulding my lips against his, my body pressed against his, unwilling to let go. His arm crept around my neck, the other holding me against him. He pulled away before I did, breathing hard. I was floating away on a wave of happiness.

"Lizzie?"

"Yes, Alex?"

He smiled sweetly at me. "I love you."

I smiled back just as sweetly. "I know."

He laughed that wonderful laugh of his. "You did?"

I nodded. "Sure I did. When you first saw me, like when I first saw you."

He looked surprised. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. And Alex?"

"Yes?"

"Can you kiss me again?"

He pulled me onto his lip. "Anything you want."

Alex drove me home. When I set foot inside the house - Alex standing on the porch - immediately all of my family were there, talking all at once.

Alice, a scowl on her face, looked at my clothes in distaste.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE NIGHTGOWN?"

Esme hugged me, Carlisle looking at me anxiously. "Lizzie, are you alright?"

Jasper drifted forward, his face worried, and looked past me to Alex. Emmett growled and Jasper had to hold him back whilst he tried to stalk forward over to Alex. Rosalie looked at me, her perfect face shocked as she registered the state I was in.

"Lizzie, what happened?"

Bella and Edward pushed to the front. Bella had immediately pulled me into a hug and so did Edward, both of them asking anxiously if I was all right.

I pulled back from them all, walking backwards towards Alex. "Everyone, I'm fine! Alex saved me."

"Saved you? From what?" Rosalie asked, suspicion on her face. Carlisle looked tense.

"Well, the thing is, I had a really vivid nightmare which caused me to sleepwalk and I nearly ran jumped off a cliff but Alex pulled me back." I explained.

Edward exploded. "You WHAT?!"

Bella looked horrified and gripped my hand tightly. Her hand was several degrees slightly colder than mine. "Elizabeth Angel Cullen!" Her eyes were round, wide. "Don't play a joke on us! This isn't funny!"

"She isn't joking." Edward told them grimly. He strode forwards and gently pulled back my sleeve. There was an audible gasp when everyone saw the scars. I looked across at Alex, who was looking more and more uncomfortable by the second.

"You got hurt?" Rosalie rushed over to me, looking worried. "Where? We need to get you treated straight away. Alice, help me." Rosalie and Alice grabbed hold of my arms and dragged me upstairs, whilst my parents stayed behind to grill Alex.

I craned my neck to see Alex looking up at me with an alarmed look on his face.

_Sorry,_ I mouthed. And then I was being dragged to my room where Alice

returned with her arms full of clothes, making me strip down and put on the long figure-hugging negligee whilst Rosalie tended to my wounds, applying antiseptic and bandages.

"What did you _do_ to yourself?" Rosalie asked.

"Fell though a window." I supplied helpfully.

"Talk about clumsy." Alice shook her head. "Thankfully your Mom might have been clumsy, but now she's the world's most graceful vampire. I guess you inherited her clumsiness for life."

I bristled. "Excuse me! I was sleepwalking."

Alice froze. "What?"

"I had a nightmare about…about my friend and then I realised that I had crashed through a window."

Rosalie wrinkled her nose. "Why did that dog save you?"

Alice shot her a look. "He's not a dog, Rose. Alex imprinted on Lizzie."

Rosalie's expression was one of shock. She turned towards me, her face paling even beneath her snow-white skin. "Is that true?"

I nodded. "You know about it?"

"And to think: a dog with my own niece!" She muttered in disgust.

I glared at her. "He's not a DOG, _aunt_ Rosalie."

"Of course he's not!" Alice beamed, as Rosalie muttered about getting something and spun out of the room. "You know, I just love weddings – especially ones I get to organise!"

I looked at her suspiciously. "Are you _hinting_ at something, Alice?"

She shook her head. "No. But if all works out well wedding bells will be chiming within a year or two."

I felt extreme pleasure when I imagined being Alex's wife. "That…would be wonderful."

"Lizzie, I'm sorry!" Rosalie came back looking contrite. She carried a small box under her arm, holding it out to me. I glanced inside, startled to see a silver chain with a small figurine of a wolf nestled inside.

"I want you to have this – I don't really hate werewolves. Not really. I'll try and do better, get to know Alex a little."

I blinked, surprised. It was nice she'd finally used his name. And it felt weird having my aunt apologise to me like that. "It's fine, don't worry."

She smiled widely at me. "Really?"

I nodded. "Sure."

"I swear I won't ever again call your soulmate a dog or a mongrel." She promised.

"I don't see her breaking her promise." Alice looked as though she had a headache. She skipped out of the room and Rosalie led me downstairs, where the others had not moved from their positions.

"You look better." Alex murmured as I went over to him and took his hand.

"I feel better, too. Can you give these clothes to Marie and tell her I said thanks?" I handed him the bag, but he declined, shaking his head.

"I'm sure you'll be able to come back to my house to give them to her." He said.

He glanced at Carlisle. "Will she?"

"Of course, Alex." He smiled gently at him. "And you should also come to our house to see Lizzie often."

"We agree." Jasper said.

"And I'm sorry for calling you a dog…Alex." Rosalie put in.

I glanced at Alex quizzically. What did he tell them that had made them accept him so quickly? I hadn't heard because I had been thinking about other things, not really concentrating.

"We are so glad Lizzie has finally found someone for her." Esme beamed at him.

Oh, right, of course. The imprinting. My family _would_ want to know what connection Alex had to me.

Ales smiled at her, hesitant, and looked back at me. "You know, I have to be going. Marie will be getting worried."

"I'll see you out." I glared at Emmett and Jasper who were grinning; I had never met anyone as immature as them. Not so much Jasper, it was mostly Emmett who would start cracking jokes like he had had with Bella for bringing up the world's only clumsy vampire. Clumsy because I couldn't even jump through a window properly, even whilst I was sleepwalking. No doubt he would now latch onto my love life.

When the door closed behind us, I heard a snort, and Emmett burst into peals of laughter.

"Your family really care about you, don't they?" Alex asked.

I nodded. "They worry about me a lot, since I'm more fragile than them and not a full vampire."

"I think your parents were worried that I might not be compatible for you."

I frowned. "Carlisle and Esme?"

"No – Edward and Bella." My shock must have been evident on my face, because he carried on. "It was obvious, really. You have a similar scent."

"Oh. _Oh_."

He smiled at me, reaching out to take my hand. "You have to tell me more about your family sometime."

"You do know they can hear you, right?" I asked.

He grinned. "Sure." He leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back softly, clinging onto him, when I heard someone clear their throat, and someone else burst into peals of laughter. Emmett would pay for this. I pulled away and looked at Alex.

"Guess you have to go now."

He chuckled. "Your uncle."

I laughed. "He couldn't be more obvious if he tried." The laughter got more raucous and Alex kissed me again, quickly, before he got into his car and drove off.

I zoomed through the front door and went to find Emmett.

At school that morning I saw Marianne waiting for me as usual at my locker.

"Hi, Lizzie!" Her eyes were shadowed and my mind flashed back to my vision.

"Marianne," I began tentatively, unsure whether to go on, but deciding it was worth it, "I was wondering…if you knew someone…called Jesse?"

A shocked look flashed across her face. "Where did you hear that from?"

"I just…I found out about…your sister – is she okay?" I tripped over the words.

"Where did you hear that from?" She breathed.

"You wouldn't believe me." I told her.

There was a hard look on her face. "I thought I could trust you."

"What?" I gaped at her. Marianne spun around and almost ran off.

"Marianne, wait!" I called after her. A few students looked at me and I ducked my head, blushing. Alex came up to me.

"Are you okay?" He took hold of my hand possessively.

"I'm fine," I assured him. He nodded, his eyes sweeping over me.

"What was that about?"

"I'll tell you at lunch."

He smiled devastatingly at me. "But we have time now."

I shook my head, resisting against his winning smile. "But I'll tell you at lunch."

He sighed. "If that's what you want."

I squeezed his hand gently. "It is."

Since it was Tuesday, we had biology in the lab. Marianne and I were usually partners but now I paired up with Alex over everything.

Marianne went with Perdity. After lesson, everyone left the room until gradually it was only Marianne and I. I had told Alex to go ahead because there was something I had to say to Marianne. I walked over to her, my feet stepping lightly over the floor.

"Marianne, can I talk to you?" I asked.

She glanced at me and then went towards the door. I froze in my tracks, startled, then ran after her. "Marianne, wait!"

She glanced at me and then slammed the door shut behind her, but not before I realised that she was _crying_. I stared after her, astonished, and then went to retrieve my bag. Turning around, my hand accidentally knocked off a glass beaker from the table.

It broke, the liquid stripping away my skin as an instantaneous reaction, and blood poured out from my hand. I dropped to the floor, crumpling into a ball as I cradled my hand, agony shooting through my body.

_What…was in that beaker?_

_My hand…is burning._

_I feel so…dizzy!_


	7. 6: Healed

Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, aquakim, Anima Bella, angel in hell, VampireGirl007, and Outcastrebelchic for reviewing.  
Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres: You are _awesome_, you know that?

* * *

**6. Healed**

_My hand!_

_It burns!_

I lay on the floor, my heart pounding, as I waited to die. The pain was spreading through my whole body and my mind was clouded. Then over the painful haze, I felt Alex. He pulled me into his arms, cradling me to his chest as the students gathered round. I could hear murmurs as people looked on with shock.

"There's been an accident!"

"Dial 911!"

"Someone, get an ambulance here now!"

"Lizzie, I'm not going to let you go so you might as well get back to me."

Alex snarled, his face twisted in pain.

"A…Lex…" I whispered weakly.

"Don't say anything, just stay still," he murmured, walking to the door. Someone hurriedly opened it for him and he passed through.

I looked up from my pain-induced haze and saw Marianne standing at the end of the corridor, her face ashen. She was also crying, looking remorseful as she stood alone, shaking.

"Marianne…I…" the pain of saying those two words made me grit my teeth, as I winced from the pain. Marianne walked towards me, her eyes brimming with fresh tears.

"I'm really sorry…Lizzie." She turned around and ran past me, crying.

I had lost a lot of blood by the time they rushed me to the hospital. The doctors didn't know what was wrong with my hand; Carlisle looked at it, and he claimed it was an acidic compound that could eat through human skin.

He looked worried when he said the last two words; I still had to ask him what he meant by that. I don't know how long I was in the hospital for; my parents stayed in my room all hours, and so did Alex, both taking turns to give the other privacy to be alone with me.

My parents liked Alex; I liked that. I was so glad that they accepted him and didn't question his motives about me, believing he cared about me. And having Alex sit by my bed and just watch me while I flickered in and out of sleep was even better. I was finally healed on the seventh day, after Carlisle tried some cures on me. I was free to go home that day, and my parents came along with Carlisle, as he was a doctor and as my whole family was past the visitor limit. Alex was there, too, as he reached over and pulled me to him, smiling hugely.

"Feel better?" He asked.

I nodded. "Just hunky-dory."

He laughed, and we looked past to see my parents standing in the doorway. Bella ran to me and hugged me, squeezing me as though she would never let go. She kissed my forehead softly, her large expressive golden eyes looking at me with relief and happiness. Edward hugged me softly, kissing my cheek as they pulled me into the circle of their arms.

"I thought you were dead," Bella breathed, her voice saturated with pain. "I couldn't have lived with that."

"Neither could I." Edward murmured. He looked past me to Alex, looking at him gratefully as he came over and took hold of my hand. "We can never thank you enough for what you did for our daughter. I appreciate your care, and I know that she couldn't have picked a better person to spend her life with."

The comments made me feel warm inside. I smiled at Alex, my eyes glowing.

"Thank you, sir." Alex mumbled, flashing me a stunning smile. I nearly melted.

Edward grimaced. "Please call me Edward – sir makes me sound to old."

Alex nodded. "Yes, s-Edward."

Bella laughed, not letting go of me. "Earth be damned if you ever turn old, Edward!"

He slipped his arm around her waist, smiling down at her as she looked up at him.

"Seeing as I have everything I could possibly wish for, I wouldn't mind turning old – as long as you were with me."

I looked at Bella, seeing her cheeks redden. "Stop with the hyperboles."

"It's not a hyperbole, it's the truth." Edward insisted.

She broke away from me, glancing at Edward to Alex and I and then back to Edward. "I think we'll wait in the car."

He nodded, smiling at me as he kissed my cheek, then went away with her. I was left alone with Alex.

A seventeenth of a second and then his arms were laced around my neck as he kissed me, his mouth hungry as it fastened onto mine. The kiss was urgent, demanding, as all reason stole away and I clung to him, unwilling to let go as our mouths moved in synchronization with each other, wanting more as we had been separated for seven days.

The kiss became less burning and he turned the kiss into something more innocent before it went too far, his mouth moving against mine softly, and then he pulled away.

"How I missed you," he murmured, his brilliant eyes shadowed with some remembered pain. "I nearly died when I felt our link break."

My heart leapt into my throat and my breathing came faster. "Alex! You wouldn't – wouldn't _die_ because of me!"

"Without you, I couldn't live." He growled. "Keeping me alive would be torturous, to say the least!"

His intensity stunned me into silence. And yet…it felt so right. That I should be needed, that I would die without him, that he would not be able to survive without me. We were Romeo and Juliet at the very heart of their story.

"Promise me…" I dropped my gaze. "Promise me that if something happens to me, you'll try…try to stay alive."

He was frozen, his eyes panicked. "I'll make no such promise. But I could promise you the opposite."

A choked sob escaped from my throat and I leaned my head against his chest, the tears falling. To think of a world without Alex…it was as if the existence of this universe wouldn't even have been thought of.

A world without him was inexplicable, couldn't be. But a world without me…would survive. Would not be impacted by my death. Because, for certain, one day I would continue growing older and die, and Alex, the alpha werewolf, would stop his ageing unconsciously and have to watch whiles I withered away before his eyes. And he would stay young forever, as I never would.

Alex's arms wrapped around me as he buried his face in my hair.

"Don't cry. It hurts to see you in pain." He whispered.

I wiped away my tears, looking up at him. "But I could have…died…and you, you would have died too."

He nodded. "Yes. And we would have been together as we were meant to."

I sniffed, giving him a watery smile. "Sorry, Mr, I don't think any of us are dying – not yet. Maybe in a few years time."

He chuckled. "That's my girl."

I gripped his hand. "Let's go to the car, shall we? Or my parents will be wondering if something's happened to us."

His eyes gleamed. "_Something_?"

"You know what I mean."

He laughed. "As matter of fact, I do. And I hope that _something _had come up."

I gave him an incredulous look. "In a _hospital room_? You have _got _to be kidding me."

"Do I look like I'm pulling your leg?"

I sighed. "No. And maybe now we actually _should _be going."

He grinned, grabbing my hands, and raced to the car in two thousandth of a second. I loved that bit about werewolves having super speed.

Bella and Edward were lounging against the door, waiting for us; they were talking in low voices. When we arrived, they looked up, startled, as though they had been too preoccupied in their conversation.

"Lizzie, Alex!" Bella beamed, opening the passenger door and sliding into the seat gracefully as Edward went around to the driver's side of his silver Volvo. Alex opened the door for me and I slid in, thanking him profusely, until he glared at me.

I quietened down and the ride home Bella talked about school, what was going on, how everyone was. When we arrived, Alex opened the door for me. I sighed, fearful of facing the task of telling him to not be so protective of me that he treated me like an invalid – no, a princess – and clambered out. The door opened, and then the deafening roar met me just as I was about to cross the threshold.

"SURPRISE!"


	8. 7: Reconciliation

Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, Emberseve, Anima Bella, DropDeadGorgeous, and Willow for reviewing.  
Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres: Poor baby, hope you get well soon! If something like that had happened to me, I would have died. Literally.

* * *

**7. Reconciliation**

I gasped, stumbling back as I took in the sea of faces surrounding me. All my family was there, as were all my friends from school, and also Alex's friends – or maybe his pack.

I went in, Alex a constant shadow at my heel, and walked into the living room. It had apparently been transformed; the couch was pushed against the wall and several tables bearing food were in front of the 219" plasma screen.

The room, foyer, and kitchen were all decorated, and from what I'd seen, the adjoining rooms were also decorated. My family had even gone far enough to place twinkling stars and gold streamers upstairs. Music was blaring from the sound system. I turned around to look at my parents.

"What is this?"

Bella glanced at Alice, who had appeared at her shoulder. "It was all…"

"…Me." Alice finished, triumphant. "What do you think of the lights down the street?"

"What lights?" I mumbled, confused.

"You could have taken your mind away from you soulmate for just a split second to look at the decoration that I put out for _your _welcome home party!"

She growled. "You don't even have the nerve to say sorry!" She stalked away.

I glanced at Edward, my eyebrows raised. "She's _your _sister."

"_Your_ aunt." He told me.

I sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll go talk to her, tell her I'm sorry."

"I'll come along." Alex grinned.

I smiled. "I wouldn't have it any other way." I traipsed away to find Alice, and found her in the kitchen, a glower on her face. Jasper was trying to get her to come back to the main room, but she was refusing.

"Alice?" I asked.

She looked up. "Oh, its you." She huffed and turned her face away.

I resisted the urge to smile and glanced at Alex. He was openly smiling. "Alice, I'm sorry. You have set up the most beautiful decorations along the drive, and the house is fantastic. I couldn't have wished any better for a welcome home party."

Alice glanced up as Jasper chuckled, her small face brightening up, excitement sparkling in her eyes. "Really? In that case, lets go! I also invited some other people from my classes that I'd like you to meet…" I shot a helpless look at Alex as I was dragged away.

Jasper was still laughing, and Rosalie and Emmett had come in. Alice noticed my look at Alex and pulled on my hand, her iron vise strengthening. "Sorry, but you can get back to your soulmate some other time. Right now, I have things for you to do."

I sighed and followed her into the party.

That week, I managed to catch up on my homework with Alex's help – not really help, as I had copied his work – and was back at school as normal.

The first Monday back I sat with Alex in the cafeteria, where he was finding out everything he could about my life. I was sitting next to him on the table, my hand intertwined in his.

"Is your full name really Elizabeth Cullen?" He asked, frowning.

I nodded. "Elizabeth Angel Cinderella Cullen."

Alex chuckled. "Meaning?"

"Elizabeth Masen was my Dad's mother's – my grandmother's – name, so my parents named me after her. And my middle name is Angel because apparently I look like an Angel, so my mother put it down as my middle name. Cinderella is because, you know, Rosalie's my fairy godmother and has to get me to the ball. It's not really my name; it was meant to be a joke, but they put it down on my birth certificate."

Alex laughed. "Cinderelli-"

"Don't you start!" I warned.

He grinned. "As you wish, oh object-of-my-imprinting."

"Any more questions?"

He nodded. "Of course. Birthday?"

"Tuesday 23rd January 07. I'm an Aquarius."

"What traits do you get from your parents?"

I hesitated, thinking it over. "Well, I guess I can say that I get my confidence, style, and also loving cars from Edward, and I'm a bad liar, stubborn, sun loving, and sensitive, which I get from Bella. On behalf of the rest of my family I'm mostly cheerful."

"Apart from your family here, who else have you got?"

"My grandpa is Chief Charlie Swan of Forks, and my grandma is Renée Dwyer. Renée's husband, my step-grandpa, is Phil. They're in Jacksonville, Florida."

Alex nodded. "How did you end up in Virginia?"

"Because we don't change, we change locations every three/four years. So far we've been to Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma, Monterrey, and San Jose."

"Favorite color?"

I grinned, looking into his eyes. "Oh sure, that's easy. Emerald."

He smiled understandingly. "And mine would be jade."

My breath caught. He was so _perfect_. And he was mine. I smiled, marvelling at the treasure that belonged to me.

For the next couple of days, I quizzed him about his life, answering questions about mine. As each second passed, I felt closer to him, and my family sensed that I was happier than I had ever been in my whole life.

He became a permanent fixture in our family, and Alice was trying to get hold of his photo to add to the ten-slot family portrait, which I was refusing to give. I realised that I hardly saw Marianne and that I hadn't talked to her in awhile, not since that day when I had injured myself.

It was a pleasant day at home that Saturday. Carlisle and Esme were watching CNN, Emmett and Rosalie were confined to their room, Alice had gone shopping with Bella – practically dragged her away – Edward was composing some new songs on the piano, and I was sitting down to play cards with Jasper, just when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." I sprang up lightly and answered the door.

It was Marianne.

"Can I talk?" She asked.

I gaped at her, surprised, and then finally closed my mouth. "Sure! Come in."

I led her into the foyer and ran to the living room.

"Your friend?" Edward asked.

I nodded. "We'll be in my room." I turned around and went back to Marianne, leading her up to my room. I heard Marianne try to stifle gasp when she saw it; it was large, as big as the science lab in school, and done in emerald. It had previously been a soft pink and white, but Alice and Esme had redecorated it for me when my color preferences changed.

There was a large four-poster on one wall, with hanging drapes done in all shades of green, and a thick bottle green Oriental rug was on the wooden lamination. The walls were done in sea green. There were a set of drawers underneath the bed and a large desk in the opposite corner, with a matching wooden chair. A loveseat was by the window, and a TV was by the large walk-in wardrobe – the TV included cable. Many pictures decorated the walls; pictures of my family, Alex, my friends at school from the time I was with them when I was apart from Alex, and me.

Marianne was staring at the photos of my family, swallowing. The sun had been peeking out from the clouds on the day the photos were taken, and it illuminated the marble of my family's skin, which glittered, shattering it into a million sparkling pieces. The beauty and luminance was blinding.

"You have a nice room," Marianne finally said after a while. I shrugged.

"My sister and Mom decorated it for me."

Marianne gave me a small smile. "They did a good job."

I nodded. "I know."

Marianne opened her mouth to say something and then closed it, not meeting my eyes. She glanced at her picture that I had hung directly above my bed, and then looked back at me. I thought I saw her eyes sparkling.

"I want to say I'm so, so sorry about what happened. When I saw you in Alex's arms bleeding…I thought that – you wouldn't come back and I cursed myself from not being upfront about my – my past."

"Maria -" I started to say, when she held up a hand.

"Please, let me finish. I don't know how you found out about…Jesse…but it's my fault for not being honest with you."

"It wasn't your f-" I began, but she didn't let me finish.

"Yes, it was. It all began when Jesse began stalking my sister, Charlaine. No one knew, and then he started appearing to her at night, scaring her, appearing wherever she went. It got to the point where she was too scared to even go out of her room.

"It was a dark time for us; we didn't know what to do, and we never actually saw him, only Allie did. And then one day, he kidnapped her; he left with her at night, and my father had a heart attack and ended up in hospital. Allie always used to keep her computer switched on, and I noticed that she hadn't checked her inbox.

"And then I noticed that she had sent a message to a friend of hers asking about Transylvania, Hungary, and a man called Jesse. I realised that was where he probably took her and booked my plane tickets behind my parent's back, going to Transylvania that night.

"Allie had talked about this place called the Revello mansion. I found it and went inside, finding my sister unconscious in a barricaded room which I had broken into after I had checked all the others. I realised she had been starved intentionally, and then he was there and knocked me out. I woke up in the room, tied to a chair, and Jesse was just talking about himself. He showed me his scarred face and then he…had a knife…and he…ripped off my face with it. I thought I was dead, but my parents had found out what I had done and had come after me. They came to the mansion and found me with half of my face ripped off and Allie on the floor. They took me to a hospital, and I nearly died from the shock.

"I was haemorrhaging, and it took me six years to recover. I had plastic surgery done to my face, which hid the scars. Now my sister goes to university and we promised each other we would never tell anyone what had happened, but," Marianne smiled ruefully, "you already know, don't you?"

I nodded, stunned. A vampire had stalked her sister and ripped off her face. Even what had happened to me hadn't been as bad.

"I'm sorry. You must have hated it all." I murmured.

She nodded. "I did. But now I'm learning to deal with it."

I reached over and gave her a hug. She stiffened, surprised, and then returned the hug.

"Thank you." She whispered, her eyes grateful.

I smiled. "Don't thank me."

She sniffed, and then she was back to her usual self. She grabbed my hand and propelled me towards the door, much like Alice. When we reached the foyer, she walked boldly into the living room. "

Mr and Mrs, Cullen, may Liz come shopping with me right now?"

Carlisle chuckled, smiling an amused smile. "Of course."

Marianne beamed at him. "Thank you sir."

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"Going shopping, what else?" she replied coolly, but there was a new softness behind her eyes.

I surrendered to her, just glad to have my friend back, and grabbed my coat, a wad of money already inside. She walked over to her car, a small black Ford, and I got into the passenger seat as she drove to the Mall. She grabbed my hand and dragged me along to NEXT.

The salesgirl widened her eyes when she saw me, and turned back to her customer. Marianne dragged me along to the clothes rack, and picked out a black halter-top.

"I have a question." I told her.

"And that would be?" She grabbed a pair of apple-bottom jeans and held it against herself critically, along with the halter-top.

"Why are we shopping?"

She glanced at me. "Oh, didn't I tell you?"

"No?"

"Pierce and I are going out." She beamed, slinging the outfit over her arm and going over to the shoes section to pick a pair of heels.

I arched my eyebrow. "Really?"

She nodded, walking over to the counter with her purchases. I followed her as she laid the outfit down on the counter and as the salesgirl put the clothes in a bag. Marianne handed over the money and grabbed my arm, taking hold of her bag as we went to the next shop. I tried to keep pace with her as we reached BAY.

"But why am I coming with you?"

She huffed, exasperated. "_Because_ it's a double date this Friday and you're coming with Alex."

"What! Does Alex know?" I asked.

She nodded. "I told him, but he said he'd ask you first. If you don't want to go, he's not going. So that means I'm dragging you there by force, if I have to. Alex hasn't gone out in quite a while, and I want him to come."

"O_kay_." We entered the shop and chose a short indigo dress with a wrap scarf and matching indigo heels for me, and paid at the counter. We walked out of the shop talking and laughing, when I heard a voice behind me.

"Lizzie, Marianne?" Alex was standing behind us, his hands in his pockets, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"

I beamed and went over to him, feeling so much happier now that he was here. "I've missed you."

He took hold of my hand. "I know." He glanced at Marianne. "What's this about?"

"I took Lizzie shopping for our double date." She informed him.

His eyebrows shot up. "You did?"

"Yes, I did. Both of you have to go out. You spend too much times to yourselves." She sounded like a stern mother.

Alex laughed. "Whatever you say." I smiled, just as I heard footsteps approaching.

"Oh, _this_ is a surprise."

_I recognise that voice…_

I glanced up, my face going pale, and my legs gave way underneath me.


	9. 8: Vampire Stalkers

Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, Monica J Jones, Anima Bella, and HappyWithLife for reviewing.  
Medusa Sparrow-Descouedres: Gracias, Mon Petite Hombre!

* * *

**8. Vampire Stalkers**

Alex caught me and settled me gently on my feet, both him and Marianne looking towards the voice. The speaker was a young boy who seemed eighteen, with black hair and dark sunglasses. He was dressed in jeans and a denim jacket, as he looked at us with a contemptuous look on his face.

"Who are you?" Alex growled.

"I think your soulmate would know." He took off his glasses; his eyes were crimson.

I heard Marianne's sharp intake of breath. "You – you're a…vampire."

He smirked. "And you just figured that out right now?"

My breathing speeded up. _He followed me…?_ "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't bear to be away from you for so long. So I followed you."

And _that_ just confirmed my suspicions. I shot a panicked glance at Marianne who was looking shocked, her face flushed. She looked at me, and understanding flashed in her eyes.

"Come on Lizzie." She grabbed hold of my hand and waked away from the boy. Alex followed, not stopping until we were safely out of reach.

Marianne let go of my arm, her brow furrowed.

"You never told me you were being stalked."

"I couldn't. That's the reason why we…had to move away." I mumbled.

Alex was livid. "Did he hurt you in any way?"

I shook my head. "Not really, no. He would just follow me around all the time and send me notes and, um, disturbing things…"

Marianne looked understandingly at me. "Which included dead flowers, right?"

I nodded. "And, um, he managed to get some of my hair and sent it back to me, saying that with it he could, um, control me with it, and to watch out. He also sent me chocolates. With poison inside. And candy hearts, all personalised with my name. He sent mostly notes, though."

"What kind of notes?" Alex asked.

I gave a weak smile. "'Roses are blue, violets are red, and we'll be together forever, when you are dead.'"

Alex was silent. His mouth was set in a thin line. "Let me get this straight – you have a crazy psychopathic vampire after you."

"It's always the vampires." Marianne remarked.

"You never get human stalkers like that." Alex agreed.

"I guess I'm just wired that way!" I retorted sarcastically.

Alex tilted his head. "Do you even know his name?"

I shuddered. "No…and I wouldn't want to. To me, he's just Crazy Psychopathic Vampire." Not to mention scary. And I was afraid of him; more afraid than I had ever been in my whole life. I didn't know him and I didn't know why he was stalking me.

Who was it that said, '_we're not afraid of the dark, we're only afraid of what's in it_'? Whoever it was, they couldn't have been any more right. People were always afraid of the unknown.

Marianne went to her car, waving goodbye as Alex tugged me along to his Cadillac. He paused, glancing at me worriedly as he twisted the key in the lock.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked softly.

I nodded. "I – I think."

He leaned in to kiss my forehead. "Hey, don't worry. I'll make sure that he doesn't get within a hundred miles of you. I promise."

I looked gratefully up at him. "Thanks. Not that I can't take of myself, though."

"You can't always be dependant on yourself. Just this once…let me take care of you."

I frowned at him. "Why do you sound so different? What happened? Is it to do with your family? You never told me about them."

He sighed, pulling himself away from the car door. "Let's go home and then I'll tell you."

I nodded and got into the passenger seat. When I arrived at his house, I noticed that Marie's car wasn't parked in front as usual. I glanced quizzically at Alex as I went inside. He noticed, slinging his coat on the table where it lay next to my shopping bag.

"She's gone back to college."

"She has?" I glanced around; without Marie's things scattered absentmindedly on the floor, the house seemed a little empty.

"Yeah." He was staring at something in the distance. I frowned.

_What was wrong with him?_

"So what were you going to tell me?" I asked.

He didn't answer. I waved my hands about his face. "Hello? Earth to Alex?"

His eyes flickered and he smiled at me apologetically. "You were saying?"

"What were you going to tell me?" I prompted.

He was silent for a while. I went over to him, looking up at his face.

"Alex?"

He glanced at me, meeting my eyes. "My Dad left us when I was young. I was only four then. After he left us, I couldn't speak. And then my Mom died. I couldn't save her. She was only young, not even having reached thirty. The doctors said it was because she had lost the will to live when her husband left her. I promised myself that I would find the one girl for me, and I would protect her and die for her so that she would never be hurt the way my mother was."

"And that girl was me," I whispered softly, understanding. He nodded. I only just realised what he said, and my eyes widened. "Wait – you live by yourself?"

Alex nodded. "My sister comes home from college sometimes, but mostly it's just me."

"How do you do it?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I just do."

"Want to move into my house?" I suggested.

He smiled. "Somehow I don't think that idea would go off well with both parties."

"No, it wouldn't. My family would be thrilled. Especially Esme." I was silent for a while as I thought. "But then…we move on every three/four years." My voice was soft. "We – we have to."

"I know." Alex's voice was just as soft.

I smiled weakly. "We'll tackle that milestone when we reach it, but for now I don't think we should worry about it."

"I agree."

Talking of dying had left me feeling miserable. Alex glanced at me sharply and cupped my face in his hands, making me look at him.

"Hey, it doesn't matter about all that, I'm here right now, aren't I?"

"I know, but still…"

"Lizzie, you're only seventeen. We have our whole lives ahead of us, and you know I'll follow you to the end of the earth and beyond." He murmured.

I nodded. "Okay."

"I wanted to ask you – did you have any…dreams…whilst you were in hospital?" He asked, staring intently at me.

I thought back to my time in the hospital ward. "No. I never had any dreams at all."

He flashed a smile. "That's good."

I had an idea. "Alex, are you free tonight?"

"You know I am. Why?"

"Well…" I tilted my head to the side, considering. "I was thinking…"

"You were _thinking_?" He repeated, unable to keep from smiling.

I glared at him. "Tell me its not going to be a dumb blonde joke."

He shook his head solemnly. "I swear it wasn't."

"Well anyways, I was thinking that you could come to my house for dinner, because you've never come to my house for dinner before and it would be nice for my family to get to know you more." I told him.

Alex was silent for a while. "I thought your family didn't eat human food?"

"They don't really, but, as strange as it is, my Mom can and so can my Dad and, to a certain extent, the rest of my family, something to do with my Mom's power of being like a human. That's how I was born, actually." I explained.

"Oh." His forehead creased, and then he grinned suddenly. "I'll only come for the dinner – as long as _you_ make the food."

_Why did I ever tell him I hated cooking?_

Now I was terrified.


	10. 9: Fragile

Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, DropDeadGorgeous, Anima Bella, and Willow for reviewing.  
My beta-reader is out of service due to a personal reason, so I hope this document is fine, as I didn't get to send it to her...

* * *

**9. Fragile**

I told my family that Alex was coming over for dinner; unsurprisingly, they were thrilled. Alex had never come to our house before for dinner, and Bella and Edward wanted to get to know him a little better, which was the part that I was terrified of. My parents may be seventeen and eighteen, but they could be as strict as any parents with teenage daughters. Bella also wanted to help me cook, having learned to make gourmet foods, so I agreed and went to my room to put my bags on the desk, knocking over a few of my perfumes. I reached down to pick them up and came across a bottle I didn't recognise; it was a hematite color with a crystal stopper. I froze, glancing around anxiously.

_Someone…had been in my room._

No guesses to whom it had been.

Hesitantly, I unscrewed the cap and sniffed the contents. It was odourless. I shook few droplets of the clear liquid onto my hand; the reaction was instantaneous as I crumpled onto the floor in a stupor. One though flashed into my mind before I gained unconsciousness: I really had to stay away from things in bottles.

_It was different from last time: last time I had been tied down, but this time I was huddled against the door, my eyes fixed on the vampire walking rapidly closer, his heels tapping on the linoleum. I blinked, my vision shifting. It seemed one minute he was Jesse, and then he became the vampire who was stalking me. Both were hideous, with their crimson eyes and lips pulled back in a snarl as he neared._

"_Nice to see you again." He laughed, and then he was Jesse. He motioned someone forward with his hand, and the person stepped out from behind him so I could see him or her more clearly._

_I gasped when I saw who it was._

_Marianne._

_But not the Marianne I know; this Marianne had a vampire's visage, with her crimson eyes and the translucent fangs slipping past her bottom lip, and was as lovely as ever, dressed in a long bloodred gown, her sharp crimson fingernails scraping along her granite forehead as she neared, fear plain in her eyes. I was too horrified to laugh at the absurd situation; the powerful cat afraid of the little cowering mouse. My best friend had been turned, and my vision turned red as I sprang at Jesse. But he twisted his hand and I fell back along the wall, my breath coming in short agonising bursts._

"_Be a good little girl and stay put – I have to show you something." He drew Marianne to the side and pointed at the wall behind me. Flames sprang up, licking along the paper as it crackled dryly. I stumbled back, the heat warming my skin. A spark flew onto my face, singeing my cheek. I screamed, reaching up as it burst into flame, and looked ahead at Jesse. He was smiling cruelly, his fingers curled up as the flames spread over my body, the fire eating away agonisingly at me. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing this was a dream – no, a nightmare - but unable to do anything._

_And then everything shifted; I was still crouched against the wall, but the flames had gone and there was no Marianne, though Jesse was sitting calmly in front of me, legs crossed, smiling._

"_How do you feel?" He asked._

_What? "What are you talking about?" I hissed._

_He indicated a small knife lying next to me. "That. You took quite a blow when you cut yourself."_

_Panicked, I glanced down, and then feeling something warm on my neck, I touched my fingers gingerly on my throat, coming away with blood._

_I had slashed my own throat._

_Jesse laughed as he saw my sudden comprehension._

"_And I want you to pick up that knife and slash yourself again." He was smiling openly._

_My body obeyed though I was screaming inside my mind. As I picked up the knife, my fingers trembling, Jesse's smile widened as if he was a child receiving a wanted gift on Christmas morning. I had a suspicion he was playing with me, and my heart started beating loudly as my fingers, steady now as his will dominated my mind and body, came swiftly up towards my throat._

_The pain was like nothing I had ever imagined._

_As my blood gushed over my fingers, the knife slipping onto the floor as my hand sought a way to stop the flood of crimson, I started to blacken out._

_The last thing I heard was a voice, so lovely not even the loveliest vampire in the world could rival it, as I went under._

"_Enough!"_

I was lying in someone's lap as their hand closed over my throat gently, the blood staining their fingers. I dimly registered Rosalie approaching me and quickly applying bandages on my wound, her face agonised as dry, tearless sobs came from her throat. I could only look above me, and the musky scent of pine tress forest could only be Alex, whom I realised was the one whose lap my head was leaning on.

I swallowed, then instantly regretted the action when an agonising flash of heat raced through my throat. My hand reached up to my throat as I choked, but then my hands were taken away as Bella laid her palms gently across my throat, the ice subduing the fire.

"Lizzie?" Edward asked hoarsely. His face was pale, his eyes burning brightly, feverish. Bella was unable to speak, her face just as pale. She was shaking, tears rolling down her cheeks.

I closed my eyes momentarily and forced myself to sit up. Alex's arms stayed around me as he supported me against him. I couldn't speak, not yet, as my throat, ever so slowly, began to knit and heal. I smiled at the three around me and motioned that I was unable to speak. Edward looked only partially reassured, his eyes still burning, as he translated to Alex what I was thinking.

"Lizzie, is it fine if I try something on you…?" Bella asked suddenly. Her voice was lower than I had ever heard before in my entire life.

I nodded, my throat hurting. Bella reached out as Alex and Edward looked on, unwrapping my bandages and laying her hands against my throat. I winced at the pain and she shuddered, and then stilled herself as she concentrated on my throat. The pain vanished and my hand flew to my neck, my eyes wide.

_Oh, my god? I'm not hurting anymore?_

"Her wound – it's gone?" Disbelief colored Alex's voice.

Bella nodded, smiling a little. "I have the power to heal."

I smiled. "That's great, Mom!" I was glad to have my voice back.

Edward's smile was dazzling as he saw that I was okay, thought I saw something dark and brooding in his gaze. "You can talk."

I laughed. I felt well enough again to joke like my usual self. "And I knew how to talk since I was a toddler?"

"Actually, not when you were a toddler, when you were exactly one year, six days, three hours, and a ninety-two of a second." Bella told me.

I blinked. "Wow."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Alex asked, worried.

I nodded, smiling at him. His answering smile made me melt. "I'm fine. But I'm sorry about-"

Alex clamped a hand over my mouth. "If you're going to say what I'm sure you're going to say, don't even think about it."

"-Not cooking your food!" I finished, triumphant. There, I had said it.

Alex chuckled. "Typical Cinderelli. You nearly died and you're sorry I can't come over to your house for dinner?"

Edward and Bella had left the room by then. "Wait – you're still coming, aren't you?"

"If you want." He stroked my hair softly.

I twisted around to face him. "I _do _want you to."

He smiled. "Okay, I'll come…but what's the purpose of a dinner without any food? Don't you still have to go to the grocery store?"

I rolled my eyes. "Hello? Food-eating vampire here?"

"Hmmm…you're not going to have me for dinner, are you?" He teased.

My throat ripped into flames. Alex saw something in my face and winced.

"Lizzie, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise -" he started to say, but I cut him off, my throat still burning.

"It's fine, it doesn't matter…really. Just…give me a minute." I disappeared out the room and ran to the bathroom, splashing my face with cold water. I sagged against the bathtub, closing my eyes.

Even after all this time, it was so hard to touch him, to kiss him, to even be near him. The burning desire to taste his blood was still there, but I had managed to ignore it.

Up until now.

I knew I was being a coward, but I couldn't go back. Only now did I realise how hard it must have been for Edward when he had told me tales of him and Bella when I had been a child. But, somehow, he had managed to get around it, even though her scent was still there as a vampire. I didn't know what he had done, but it must have been something significant. I wished he had told me, and then I could have applied it to Alex. I couldn't deal with it anymore. The thought that constantly plagued me every minute of my day was that one day, I would snap.

And I would kill Alex.

That in itself was something that kept the hunger under control. Just the thought alone of Alex being dead, killed by my own hands, was too unbearable; I would rather die.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, surveying my pale face, my wide, slightly red-rimmed eyes, and steeled myself as I prepared to go back to my room.

Unconsciously, I fingered my neck. The wound had gone, and I felt no pain. My mother had really done a good job when she had healed my neck – there wasn't even a faint outline.

I shuddered as my thoughts turned darker, going to my dream.

Jesse…had been as scary as ever. But now I hated him even more, when he had pulled Marianne into it. Marianne, who hated Jesse. The man who had destroyed her sister.

But the one I was really concerned about was the woman.

The woman…her voice was so lovely; I remembered it clearly even now. Rose and Bella's voices, two of the loveliest voices I had ever heard in my life, could not compare. And _that_ was saying something.

And where could the voice have come from? I hadn't seen her anywhere – even though I had been falling back into reality, I would have sensed her presence – which I hadn't.

And what she had said…

"_Enough.'_

What had she meant by that? It was strange, it had kind of seemed like Jesse had been _playing_ with me. The thought was enough to freeze my blood. If that was playing…I found myself unconsciously fingering my wound. If _that_ was playing, then what would happen…

…When he actually came to hunt me?

As if making me harm myself to the edge of death wasn't enough.

And then, there was my anonymous vampire stalker. Who was he?

All this I thought through in one long second – my vampire brain had enough room to process it all in. I decided – in my terms, anyway – that I had taken enough time, and went back to Alex.

He looked startled to see me; after all, it had been only two seconds. "Lizzie, are you okay?"

I nodded; I felt fine now. I had once again regained control of my hunger, and it was at the back of my mind, if not entirely banished. "Yeah, thanks. I'm – I'm so sorry about that."

The corner of his mouth quirked up into a smile. I felt relived; he was apparently over it. "If you say sorry one more time, I think I'll have to permanently tape your mouth shut."

I laughed. "Sorry, wolf boy. There's no tape in my room."

Alex laughed, hugging me from behind. "Want to bet?"

I smirked. "200 dollars."

"Fine." He reappeared, grinning triumphantly as he brandished a roll of duct tape.

I stared at the tape then back up at him, surprised. "You hid it before, didn't you?" I accused.

He looked hurt. "I can't believe you'd think I would cheat!"

I laughed. The laughter seemed to please him; a smile spread across his face as he looked at me, and then I walked over to him, planting my arms around his neck. "Kiss me?"

"Anything you wish, oh object-of-my-imprinting." His mouth closed on mine and I was carried away on a wave of bliss.

Sometime later, I pulled away reluctantly. Night had fallen, and Alex and I had to eat.

Alex laughed when he saw my woebegone expression. "Don't worry, there'll be more where that came from later," he promised.

I beamed. "Excellent."

We went downstairs and entered into the dining room; there was nothing on the table except for the basic food essentials on two of the places, and some of my family were in the room: Carlisle and Esme, their heads close together over a book, Rosalie and Emmett up in their room, Alice in the kitchen with Edward and Bella, and Jasper flipping through the channels on TV so rapidly no human eye could have detected the various channels he viewed briefly before moving on.

Alice was suddenly in the room, and she grabbed mine and Alex's hands and propelled us towards the table, seating us down on the chairs.

"You and you stay there, and the others -" she shot a meaningful glance at Carlisle and Esme and Jasper, raising her voice so that Rosalie and Emmett could hear – unless they were too occupied – up in their room, "I want you to all treat our guest nicely."

Carlisle chuckled. "Of course."

Alice glided out, and was back just as swiftly, Bella and Edward at her heels, smiling brightly as she set down some steaming dishes on the table.

I gulped, looking up at her. "Um, Alice, I'm not hungry…"

She growled. "Fine! At least Alex will eat it, won't he?" She turned her winning smile on him, but he barely noticed it, his eyes intent on my face.

"Sure."

"Go ahead, eat, and if Liz wants to eat as well, she can." Alice encouraged.

I caught Bella's eye; she was smiling, and the corner of Edward's mouth was turned up. As they read Alice's mind, they disappeared with an apologetic glance at me.

"Right, please may all of you clear out? Alex will find it uncomfortable if you all sit here and watch him eat." Alice shooed them all out and then disappeared herself, with a final smile at me.

Alex blinked when she had gone. "Well that was rather confusing."

I nodded. "Alice is like that."

"Want a bite?" He offered the spoon to me, but I shook my head. So fast I didn't notice, he wedged the spoon into my mouth. I choked, and swallowed quickly.

"Hey!" I protested. "That wasn't fair!"

"What do you think of the ravioli?" His eyes were gleaming.

"Nice," I admitted grudgingly, "but you shouldn't have done that!"

He grinned. "You can feed me, if you like?"

I dipped the spoon into the ravioli, and held it up. "Open up!"

He eyed the spoon. "You know it was just a joke -" he began, but I jammed the spoon into his mouth and he swallowed, his mouth working quickly.

"All's fair." I beamed at him.

He growled quietly. "You'll pay for that."

I laughed, brandishing the spoon at him. "Want some more? Here!" I jammed the spoon into his mouth and he swallowed, gritting his teeth. I laughed again, and he caught me off guard, getting some food onto my hair.

When all the dishes were cleared, I was sure most of the food had gone onto our clothes than into our mouths.


	11. 10: Myths

Thanks to Gothic Girl 3000, La Belle Morte, LiTlTe BeLlA sWaN, JasmineSaffronCullen, Anima Bella, and random reviewer for reviewing.  
As my beta-reader is still out of service, I enlisted the help of Kira Sakura to beta-read this piece for me. Thanks, Kira!

* * *

**10. Myths**

After dinner, Alice chucked us (literally) out of the kitchen, and Alex and I ended up stranded in our room. Once we were in the comfort of my little safe haven, Alex sat down on my bed as I leaned against his side, snuggling up to him.

"Do you want to know a story about how we began?" He murmured, his voice soothing me.

"Go on." I rested more securely against his side as he put his arm around me and began.

"The Quileutes have always been here, as long as humans have been known to exist. It wasn't always the magic of shape shifting that we knew — that came later. First, we were spirit warriors." Alex's voice has taken on a soft, authoritative tone as I listened.

"In the beginning, the tribe settled in La Push harbour and became skilled ship builders and fishermen. But the tribe was small, and the harbor was rich in fish. There were others who coveted our land, and we were too small to hold it. A larger tribe moved against us, and we took to our ships to escape them. Kaheleha was not the first spirit warrior, but we don't remember the stories that came before his. All that is lost to us. We don't know who the first to discover this power was, or how it had been used before this crisis. Kahelehawas the first Great Spirit Chief in our history. In this emergency, Kaheleha used the magic to defend our land. He and all his warriors left the ship — not their bodies, but their spirits. Their women watched over the bodies and the waves, and the men took their spirits back to our harbour. They could not physically touch the enemy tribe, but they had other ways. The stories tell us that they could blow fierce winds into their enemy's camps; they could make a great screaming in the wind that terrified their foes. The stories also tell us that the animals could see the spirit warriors and understand them; the animals would do their bidding. Kaheleha took his spirit army and wreaked havoc on the intruders. This invading tribe had packs of big, thick-furred dogs that they used to pull their sleds in the frozen north. The spirit warriors turned the dogs against their masters and then brought a mighty infestation of bats up from the cliff caverns. They used the screaming wind to aid the dogs in confusing the men. The dogs and bats won. The survivors scattered, calling our harbour a cursed place. The dogs ran wild when the spirit warriors released them. The Quileutes returned to their bodies and their wives, victorious.

"The other nearby tribes, the Hohs and the Makahs, made treaties with the Quileutes. They wanted nothing to do with our magic. We lived in peace with them. When an enemy came against us, the spirit warriors would drive them off. Generations passed. Then came the last Great Spirit Chief, Taha Aki. He was known for his wisdom, and for being a man of peace. The people lived well and content in his care. But there was one man, Utlapa, who was not content. Utlapa was one of Chief Taha Aki's strongest spirit warriors — a powerful man, but a grasping man, too. He thought the people should use their magic to expand their lands, to enslave the Hohs and the Makahs and build an empire.

"Now, when the warriors were their spirit selves, they knew each other's thoughts. Taha Aki saw what Utlapa dreamed, and was angry with Utlapa. Utlapa was commanded to leave the people, and never use his spirit self again. Utlapa was a strong man, but the chief's warriors outnumbered him. He had no choice but to leave. The furious outcast hid in the forest nearby, waiting for a chance to get revenge against the chief. Even in times of peace, the Spirit Chief was vigilant in protecting his people. Often, he would go to a sacred, secret place in the mountains. He would leave his body behind and sweep down through the forests and along the coast, making sure no threat approached."

I widened my eyes as I listened. I could see where this was going.

"One day when Taha Aki left to perform this duty, Utlapa followed. At first, Utlapa simply planned to kill the chief, but this plan had its drawbacks. Surely the spirit warriors would seek to destroy him, and they could follow faster than he could escape. As he hid in the rocks and watched the chief prepare to leave his body, another plan occurred to him. Taha Aki left his body in the secret place and flew with the winds to keep watch over his people. Utlapa waited until he was sure the chief had travelled some distance with his spirit self. Taha Aki knew it the instant that Utlapa had joined him in the spirit world, and he also knew Utlapa's murderous plan. He raced back to his secret place, but even the winds weren't fast enough to save him. When he returned, his body was already gone. Utlapa's body lay abandoned, but Utlapa had not left Taha Aki with an escape — he had cut his own body's throat with Taha Aki's hands. Taha Aki followed his body down the mountain. He screamed at Utlapa, but Utlapa ignored him as if he were mere wind. Taha Aki watched with despair as Utlapa took his place as chief of the Quileutes. For a few weeks, Utlapa did nothing but make sure that everyone believed he was Taha Aki. Then the changes began — Utlapa's first edict was to forbid any warrior to enter the spirit world. He claimed that he'd had a vision of danger, but really he was afraid. He knew that Taha Aki would be waiting for the chance to tell his story. Utlapa was also afraid to enter the spirit world himself - he knew Taha Aki would quickly claim his body. So his dreams of conquest with a spirit warrior army were impossible, and he sought to content himself with ruling over the tribe. He became a burden — seeking privileges that Taha Aki had never requested, refusing to work alongside his warriors, taking a young second wife and then a third, though Taha Aki's wife lived on — something unheard of in the tribe. All the while, Taha Aki watched in helpless fury.

"Eventually, Taha Aki tried to kill his body to save the tribe from Utlapa's excesses. He brought a fierce wolf down from the mountains, but Utlapa hid behind his warriors. When the wolf killed a young man who was protecting the false chief, Taha Aki felt horrible grief. He ordered the wolf away. All the stories tell us that it was no easy thing to be a spirit warrior. It was more frightening than exhilarating to be freed from one's body. This is why they only used their magic in times of need. The chief's solitary journeys to keep watch were a burden and a sacrifice. Being bodiless was disorienting, uncomfortable, horrifying. Taha Aki had been away from his body for so long at this point that he was in agony. He felt he was doomed — never to cross over to the final land where his ancestors waited, stuck in this torturous nothingness forever.

"The great wolf followed Taha Aki's spirit as he twisted and writhed in agony through the woods. The wolf was very large for its kind, and beautiful. Taha Aki was suddenly jealous of the dumb animal. At least it had a body. At least it had a life. Even life as an animal would be better than this horrible empty consciousness."

I nodded. A wolf. At least that made sense.

"And then Taha Aki had the idea that changed us all. He asked the great wolf to make room for him, to share. The wolf complied. Taka Aki entered the wolf's body with relief and gratitude. It was not his human body, but it was better than the void of the spirit world. As one, the man and the wolf returned to the village on the harbour. The people ran in fear, shouting for the warriors to come. The warriors ran to meet the wolf with their spears. Utlapa, of course, stayed safely hidden. Taha Aki did not attack his warriors. He retreated slowly from them, speaking with his eyes and trying to yelp the songs of his people. The warriors began to realize that the wolf was no ordinary animal, that there was a spirit influencing it. One older warrior, a man name Yut, decided to disobey the false chief's order and try to communicate with the wolf. As soon as Yut crossed to the spirit world, Taha Aki left the wolf — the animal waited tamely for his return — to speak to him. Yut gathered the truth in an instant, and welcomed his true chief home.

"At this time, Utlapa came to see if the wolf had been defeated. When he saw Yut lying lifeless on the ground, surrounded by protective warriors, he realized what was happening. He drew his knife and raced forward to kill Yut before he could return to his body. "Traitor!" he screamed, and the warriors did not know what to do. The chief had forbidden spirit journeys, and it was the chief's decision how to punish those who disobeyed. Yut jumped back into his body, but Utlapa had his knife at his throat and a hand covering his mouth. Taha Aki's body was strong, and Yut was weak with age. Yut could not say even one word to warn the others before Utlapa silenced him forever. Taha Aki watched as Yut's spirit slipped away to the final lands that were barred to Taha Aki for all eternity. He felt a great rage - more powerful than anything he'd felt before. He entered the big wolf again, meaning to rip Utlapa's throat out. But, as he joined the wolf, the greatest magic happened. Taha Aki's anger was the anger of a man. The love he had for his people and the hatred he had for their oppressor were too vast for the wolf's body, too human. The wolf shuddered, and — before the eyes of the shocked warriors and Utlapa — transformed into a man.

"The new man did not look like Taha Aki's body. He was far more glorious. He was the flesh interpretation of Taha Aki's spirit. The warriors recognized him at once, though, for they had flown with Taha Aki's spirit. Utlapa tried to run, but Taha Aki had the strength of the wolf in his new body. He caught the thief and crushed the spirit from him before he could jump out of the stolen body. The people rejoiced when they understood what had happened. Taha Aki quickly set everything right, working again with his people and giving the young wives back to their families. The only change he kept in place was the end of the spirit travels. He knew that it was too dangerous now that the idea of stealing a life was there. The spirit warriors were no more.

"From that point on, Taha Aki was more than wolf, more than man. _I removed the word 'either' here. It didn't seem to flow very well._They called him Taha Aki the Great Wolf, or Taha Aki the Spirit Man. He led the tribe for many, many years, for he did not age. When danger threatened, he would resume his wolf-self to fight or frighten the enemy. The people dwelt in peace. Taha Aki fathered many sons, and some of these found that, after they had reached the age of manhood, they, too, could transform into wolves. The wolves were all different, because they were spirit wolves and reflected the man they were inside."

I grinned. "So do I get to see what kind of wolf you turn into?"

Alex smiled, momentarily distracted from his tale. "I'll show you one day."

He continued his story, "Some of the sons became warriors with Taha Aki, and they no longer aged. Others, who did not like the transformation, refused to join the pack of wolf-men. These began to age again, and the tribe discovered that the wolf-men could grow old like anyone else if they gave up their spirit wolves. Taha Aki had lived the span of three old men's lives. He had married a third wife after the deaths of the first two, and found in her his true spirit wife. Though he had loved the others, this was something else. He decided to give up his spirit wolf so that he would die when she did. That is how the magic came to us, but it is not the end of the story…"

Alex paused slightly. "That was the story of the spirit warriors. And this is the story of the third wife's sacrifice."

"Wait – the third wife?" My eyebrows rose. "That's who mom always keeps talking about…"

Alex nodded. "Listen carefully and you'll realise her story. Many years after Taha Aki gave up his spirit wolf, when he was an old man, trouble began in the north, with the Makahs. Several young women of their tribe had disappeared, and they blamed it on the neighbouring wolves, who they feared and mistrusted. The wolf-men could still read each other's thoughts while in their wolf forms, just like their ancestors had while in their spirit forms. They knew that none of their number was to blame. Taha Aki tried to pacify the Makah chief, but there was too much fear. Taha Aki did not want to have a war on his hands. He was no longer a warrior to lead his people. He charged his oldest wolf-son, Taha Wi, with finding the true culprit before hostilities began.

"Taha Wi led the five other wolves in his pack on a search through the mountains, looking for any evidence of the missing Makahs. They came across something they had never encountered before — a strange, sweet scent in the forest that burned their noses to the point of pain."

I winced. I knew that smell.

"They didn't know what creature would leave such a scent, but they followed it. They found faint traces of human scent, and human blood, along the trail. They were sure this was the enemy they were searching for.

"The journey took them so far north that Taha Wi sent half the pack, the younger ones, back to the harbour to report to Taha Aki. Taha Wi and his two brothers did not return. The younger brothers searched for their elders, but found only silence. Taha Aki mourned for his sons. He wished to avenge his sons' deaths, but he was old. He went to the Makah chief in his mourning clothes and told him everything that had happened. The Makah chief believed his grief, and tensions ended between the tribes. A year later, two Makah maidens disappeared from their homes on the same night. The Makahs called on the Quileute wolves at once, who found the same sweet stink all through the Makah village. The wolves went on the hunt again. Only one came back. He was Yaha Uta, the oldest son of Taka Aki's third wife, and the youngest in the pack. He brought something with him that had never been seen in all the days of the Quileutes — a strange, cold, stony corpse that he carried in pieces. All who were of Taha Aki's blood, even those who had never been wolves, could smell the piercing smell of the dead creature. This was the enemy of the Makahs.

"Yaha Uta described what had happened: he and his brothers had found the creature, which looked like a man but was hard as a granite rock, with the two Makah daughters. One girl was already dead, white and bloodless on the ground. The other was in the creature's arms, his mouth at her throat. She may have been alive when they came upon the hideous scene, but the creature quickly snapped her neck and tossed her lifeless body to the ground when they approached. His white lips were covered in her blood, and his eyes glowed red.

"Yaha Uta described the fierce strength and speed of the creature. One of his brothers quickly became a victim when he underestimated that strength. The creature ripped him apart like a doll. Yaha Uta and his other brother were more wary. They worked together, coming at the creature from the sides, outmanoeuvring it. They had to reach the very limits of their wolf strength and speed, something that had never been tested before. The creature was hard as stone and cold as ice. They found that only their teeth could damage it. They began to rip small pieces of the creature apart while it fought them. But the creature learned quickly, and soon was matching their manoeuvre. It got its hands on Yaha Uta's brother. Yaha Uta found an opening on the creature's throat, and he lunged. His teeth tore the head off the creature, but the hands continued to mangle his brother. Yaha Uta ripped the creature into unrecognisable chunks, tearing pieces apart in a desperate attempt to save his brother. He was too late, but, in the end, the creature was destroyed. Or so they thought.

"Yaha Uta laid the reeking remains out to be examined by the elders. One severed hand lay besides a piece of the creature's granite arm. The two pieces touched when the elders poked them with sticks, and the hand reached out towards the arm piece, trying to reassemble itself. Horrified, the elders set fire to the remains. A great cloud of choking, vile smoke polluted the air. When there was nothing but ashes, they separated the ashes into many small bags and spread them far and wide — some in the ocean, some in the forest, and some in the cliff caverns. Taha Aki wore one bag around his neck, so he would be warned if the creature ever tried to put himself together again. They called it The Cold One, the Blood Drinker, and lived in fear that it was not alone. They only had one wolf protector left, young Yaha Uta.

"They did not have long to wait. The creature had a mate, another blood drinker, who came to the Quileutes seeking revenge. The stories say that the Cold Woman was the most beautiful thing human eyes had ever seen. She looked like the goddess of the dawn when she entered the village that morning; the sun was shining for once, and it glittered off her white skin and lit the golden hair that flowed down to her knees. Her face was magical in its beauty, her eyes black in her white face. Some fell to their knees to worship her.

"She asked something in a high, piercing voice, in a language no one had ever heard. The people were dumbfounded, not knowing how to answer her. There was none of Taha Aki's blood among the witnesses but one small boy. He clung to his mother and screamed that the smell was hurting his nose. One of the elders, on his way to the council, heard the boy and realized what had come among them. He yelled for the people to run. She killed him first.

"There were twenty witnesses to the Cold Woman's approach. Two survived, only because she grew distracted by the blood, and paused to sate her thirst. They ran to Taha Aki, who sat in counsel with the other elders, his sons, and his third wife. Yaha Uta transformed into his spirit wolf as soon as he heard the news. He went to destroy the blood drinker alone. Taha Aki, his third wife, his sons, and his elders followed behind him. At first they could not find the creature, only the evidence of her attack. Bodies' lay broken, a few drained of blood, strewn across the road where she'd appeared. Then they heard the screams and hurried to the harbour. A handful of the Quileutes had run to the ships for refuge. She swam after them like a shark, and broke the bow of their boat with her incredible strength. When the ship sank, she caught those trying to swim away and broke them, too. She saw the great wolf on the shore, and she forgot the fleeing swimmers. She swam so fast she was a blur and came, dripping and glorious, to stand before Yaha Uta. She pointed at him with one white finger and asked another incomprehensible question. Yaha Uta waited. It was a close fight. She was not the warrior her mate had been. But Yaha Uta was alone — there was no one to distract her fury from him.

"When Yaha Uta lost, Taha Aki screamed in defiance. He limped forward and shifted into an ancient, white-muzzled wolf. The wolf was old, but this was Taha Aki the Spirit Man and his rage made him strong. The fight began again. Taha Aki's third wife had just seen her son die before her. Now her husband fought, and she had no hope that he could win. She'd heard every word the witnesses to the slaughter had told the council. She'd heard the story of Yaha Uta's first victory, and knew that his brother's diversion had saved him.

"The third wife grabbed a knife from the belt of one of the sons who stood besides her. They were all young sons, not yet men and she knew they would die when their father failed. The third wife ran towards the Cold Woman with the dagger raised high. The Cold Woman smiled, barely distracted from her fight with the old wolf. She had no fear of the weak human woman or the knife that would not even scratch her skin, and she was about to deliver the deathblow to Taha Aki. And then the third wife did something the Cold Woman did not expect. She fell to her knees at the blood drinker's feet and plunged the knife into her own heart.

"Blood spurted through the third wife's fingers and splashed against the Cold Woman. The blood drinker could not resist the lure of the fresh blood leaving the third wife's body. Instinctively, she turned to the dying woman, for one second entirely consumed by thirst. Taha Aki's teeth closed around her neck. That was not the end of the fight, but Taha Aki was not alone now. Watching their mother die, the two young sons felt such rage that they sprang forth as their spirit wolves, though they were not yet men. With their father, they finished the creature. Taha Aki never rejoined the tribe. He never changed back to a man again. He lay for one day besides the body of the third wife, growling whenever anyone tried to touch her, and then he went into the forest and never returned. Trouble with the Cold Ones was rare from that time on. Taha Aki's sons guarded the tribe until their sons were old enough to take their places. There were never more than three wolves at a time. It was enough. Occasionally a blood drinker would come through these lands, but they were taken by surprise, not expecting the wolves. Sometimes a wolf would die, but never were they decimated again like that first time. They'd learned how to fight the Cold Ones, and they passed the knowledge on, wolf mind to wolf mind, spirit to spirit, father to son. Time passed, and the descendants of Taha Aki no longer became wolves when they reached manhood. Only in a great while, if a Cold One was near, would the wolves return. The Cold Ones always came in ones and twos, and the pack stayed small. A bigger coven came, and my great-grandfathers prepared to fight them off. But the leader spoke to Ephraim Black as if he were a man, and promised not to harm the Quileutes. His strange yellow eyes gave some proof to his claim that they were not the same as other blood drinkers. The wolves were outnumbered - there was no need for the Cold Ones to offer a treaty when they could have won the fight. Ephraim accepted. They were the Cullens."

I leapt off the bed, stretching. "Wow. That was a good tale, though it was really long."

Alex grinned. "Did you like it?"

"Loved it," I assured him. "Though I have to ask – if that happened in La Push and Forks how did you end up in Esmont?"

Alex grinned. "Didn't you know? I'm descended from Richard Black, Ephraim Black's son who moved away from his brother to go out into the world, though he never went as far as Virginia."

I blinked. "You never told me!"

Alex smiled. "I just told you, didn't I?"

_A/N Okay, so I know that this is kind of from Eclipse (though not exactly, some of it is my own) so by warning you, I don't expect anyone to sue me!_


	12. Authors Note

**A/N:**

Hi everyone!!

I just thought it was about time I reminded people that I hadn't dropped off the face of the our lovely, but dying, Earth...

So, this is the first time I've actually POSTED in, like, months – and it's not even a proper update?? OMG, It's been AGES!! So I've done everything I wanted to do since I got my laptop and for the past few days I've just been reading some FanFics that I added to my favorites and have been DYING to read since like forever since I didn't have time, but now I have time and I've read them all and it's like, SO unfair as they were written in like 2002, the majority of them and they're not finished, I wished they could have been, but I guess the authors don't come on FF. Net anymore, so oh well, I'll just be sad and wallow in my misery as I am so BORED I have nothing else to do and am really lost during this stage of my life.

So, I haven't been posting 'cause I have like a few ideas for my FanFics but the thing is, I want to update my stories as the grammar is so BAD, and maybe, just maybe, I might revamp them sometime in the future...

But I don't have the stories as of yet, as my beta-reader is doing them, so if anyone wants my stories to be updated and new chapters to be written and if you're an okay beta-reader, PM me and I'd love to send my stories that I want updating to you!!

I have been having so much PMS lately I can't stand it!! I feel so lost and confused, and then I feel on a high, and then I feel strange, and then I feel depressed, and then I feel lost and confused again – it's turning out to be this big cycle, so no wonder I'm feeling like this =DD

I'm just rambling now.

Okay.

I'll stop.

Love you all!!

And thanks SO SO MUCH for continually adding my stories to your favorites/alerts!! And glad to know many people like me as an author and 'deem' me worthy of being added to their favorties/alerts!!

Again, love y'all!!

x

Niss


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